GEORGETOWN, Kentucky — Allyson Wilbourn had 18 kills Saturday to lead Georgetown (Ky.) to 23-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-20 victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in the 2012 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.
The Tigers (34-4), ranked 13th, will advance to the NAIA National Championship Final Site at Sioux City, Iowa, Nov. 27-Dec. 1. Xavier, in its fifth year of intercollegiate volleyball, finished 22-8 and lost in the opening round for the second consecutive season.
Wilbourn, who hit .545 with no errors in 33 attacks, was one of three Tigers with double-figure kills. Caraline Maher had 14, and Kathryn Smith had 11 with a .474 hitting percentage.
Taylor Reuther had 13 kills, two aces, eight digs and three assists for Xavier. Chinedu Echebelem had eight kills, eight digs and two blocks, and Moira Kirk had seven kills, five blocks and a career-high-tying nine digs. Patrice Smith and Claudia Haywood had six kills apiece. Franziska Pirkl had 38 assists and 14 digs, and Jodi Chatters had 12 digs.
Georgetown outhit Xavier .333 to .137 — .390 to .131 in the final three sets — and had advantages of 64-46 in kills and 74-62 in digs.
Reuther, Echebelem, Smith and Haywood each had kills during a 10-4 run which gave the Gold Nuggets a 19-13 first-set lead. Smith ended the set with a kill.
Georgetown improved to 16-1 at home this season and ended the Nuggets' six-match win streak. It was the third time in 43 matches since the start of 2011 that Xavier lost after winning the first set.
Box score
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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