Xavier Gold Nuggets defeat Dillard in three at The Barn

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2012 women's volleyball team
ROSTER
COACHES

NEW ORLEANS — Chinedu Echebelem and Taylor Reuther had 14 kills apiece Monday, leading Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-20, 25-12, 25-22 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball victory against city rival Dillard at The Barn.

The Gold Nuggets (12-4, 6-0 GCAC) have a seven-match win streak and 20 consecutive victories against conference opponents over the last two seasons.  They beat the Lady Bleu Devils (3-6, 2-5) in three sets for the first time.

Carolyn Baker had 17 kills for Dillard.

Xavier trailed 15-12 in the first set before taking the leading for good with a 7-2 run which included two Reuther kills. An Echebelem kill put Xavier ahead to stay, 10-9, in the third set.

"I'm so proud of our team," XU coach Christabell Hamilton said. "We wanted them to serve tough, ball control and take advantage of the free balls. They executed the game plan."

Echebelem and Reuther each hit .423 in 26 attacks. Echebelem had 10 digs to tie Reuther for the team lead in double-doubles this season with five. Reuther, the NAIA leader in aces per set, served four more against Dillard and has 27 aces in the last seven matches.

Darian Harris led Xavier with 11 digs, and Franziska Pirkl assisted on 36 kills.

Xavier out hit Dillard .309 to .229 and had advantages of 44-28 advantage in kills, 7-5 in aces and 35-25 in digs. The Gold Nuggets hit at least .300 for the fourth consecutive time and the sixth time in their last seven matches.

Dillard leads the series 7-5, but Xavier has won the last five meetings.

The Gold Nuggets will play another city rival, Loyola, in a non-conference match at 7 p.m. Wednesday at The Barn.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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