MOBILE, Alabama -- The Xavier University of Louisiana women's volleyball team split a pair of matches for the second consecutive day and finished 2-2 in the season-opening UMobile/Spring Hill Tournament.
The Gold Nuggets on Saturday defeated Southern Wesleyan 23-25, 25-22, 27-25, 19-25, 15-12, then lost 25-19, 14-25, 25-18, 25-21 to Mobile.
Taylor Reuther had 21 kills, which tied her career high, and 22 digs against Southern Wesleyan. It was the second 20-20 match of Reuther's career. Moira Kirk had 15 kills and five blocks, and Chinedu Echebelem had nine kills and 17 digs.
Jodi Chatters had 21 digs, and setter Franziska Pirkl recorded the sixth career double-double, 43 assists and a career-best 16 digs.
Kirk had four kills and Reuther three in the fifth set against Southern Wesleyan. The Gold Nuggets won the second set after trailing 17-10. It was the sixth time in the program's six-year history that Xavier won after losing the first set.
Against Mobile, first-year coach Hannah Lawing said Xavier played its best defense of the tournament during the second set -- "Our blockers and back row figured out how to play what we had been teaching them. That's how we dominated that set," Lawing said -- but Mobile closed the third set with an 8-2 run and erased Xavier's 18-15 lead in the fourth.
Xavier will play nine more road matches -- four next week in a tournament at the University of St. Thomas in Houston -- before playing its home opener at 1 p.m. on Sept. 14 against Voorhees at the Convocation Center. Xavier on Friday will play city rival Loyola at 11 a.m. and St. Thomas at 3 p.m. in Houston.Box scores: Southern Wesleyan Mobile
Box scores: Spring Hill Asbury
Nuggets lose to Spring Hill, defeat Asbury on opening day
MOBILE, Ala. — Taylor Reuther had 18 kills and 11 digs Friday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-19, 28-26, 25-20 women's volleyball victory against Asbury, giving the Gold Nuggets a split on the first day of the season-opening UMobile/Spring Hill Tournament.
The victory followed a 25-8, 25-20, 25-22 loss to Spring Hill.
Xavier's Hannah Lawing earned her first victory as a collegiate head coach.
The Nuggets' Chinedu Echebelem had eight kills, two aces and nine digs against Asbury, and Jodi Chatters had 15 digs. Against Spring Hill, Echebelem had nine kills and eight digs, and Reuther and Moira Kirk had seven kills apiece. Reuther had 10 digs and Chatters nine.
Xavier trailed Asbury 24-22 in the second set, but four Reuther kills gave the Nuggets a 27-26 lead. Kirk then clinched the set with a kill.
The double-double was the 24th in the career of Reuther, a junior outside hitter who was the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Player of the Year and a third-team Capital One Academic All-American in 2012.
Spring Hill continued its mastery of Xavier — the Badgers lead the series 13-0 — but Xavier earned its first victory in two tries against Asbury, a 20-match winner each of the past five seasons.
Megan Haber had 14 kills and hit .700 in 20 attacks for Spring Hill, an NAIA National Championship qualifier in 2012 and 2011, and the Badgers outhit Xavier .392 to .139. Xavier outhit Asbury .154 to .127.
"We are still working out the kinks and trying to establish ourselves as a team," Lawing said. "The first match of the season is always tough, especially against a top-30 team like Spring Hill. We definitely made progress today.
"I was proud of our resilience in the second match. I'm also proud that we finished the second set against Asbury after we could've rolled over and let them take that set."
The tournament will conclude Saturday. Xavier will play at noon against Southern Wesleyan in Spring Hill's Arthur Outlaw Rec Center, then travel to the University of Mobile's Pharr Gym for a 3 p.m. match against Mobile.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS
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