 |
| TAYLOR REUTHER |
The victory was the 11th in a row for the Gold Nuggets (17-7) -- that extended a school record -- and it was their third in as many matches against the Wolf Pack (8-17) this season. Xavier was 0-11 against its city rival in its previous five seasons.
Reuther's kill during the 10th rally of the second set made her the first XU player to reach 1,000 kills. The Nuggets lost that set, but first-year coach Hannah Lawing's pep talk with her junior captains -- Reuther, Chinedu Echebelem and Moira Kirk -- provided a spark for the remainder of the match.
"We were dwelling on past points if we made an error," Echebelem said. "As captains, we have to stick together and keep the team together. If we make an error, let it go."
Not only did the Nuggets stop dwelling on errors, they also reduced their mistakes and forced Loyola into more. Xavier committed 13 errors in the final two sets after making 21 in the first two. Loyola, meanwhile, made 22 errors in the final two sets, eight more than in the first two.
"We regained our focus," Reuther said, "and played together."
Kirk and Reuther had two kills apiece during an 8-0 run which gave Xavier a 10-2 lead in the third. Claudia Haywood ended the set with a kill of a free ball.
Xavier and Loyola were tied at 14 in the fourth set, but two Wolf Pack errors -- one on a serve, the other on an attack -- and Reuther's free-ball kill put the Nuggets ahead to stay. Alexandria Rencher clinched with her third ace to end Loyola's three-match win streak and put a damper on the Wolf Pack's senior-day celebration.
Kirk had 14 kills, two aces and a block. Reuther (11 kills, 12 digs) and Echebelem (10 kills, 13 digs) both had double-doubles. Jodi Chatters had 10 digs, and Rencher had 40 assists, five digs, a block and a kill. Haywood, the Nuggets' most efficient hitter during the win streak, hit .643 with nine kills and no errors in 14 attacks.
Eva Allen had 10 kills, two aces, a block and six digs for Loyola.
Xavier outhit Loyola .289 to .144 and had advantages of 51-37 in kills, 8-6 in aces and 57-53 in digs.
Reuther finished the day with 1,008 career kills and likely will reach 1,000 career digs soon. She has 952.
"I couldn't have gotten 1,000 kills without my teammates' support," Reuther said. "They were a big part of that."
The contest was the finale of a four-team, four-match tournament co-sponsored by Xavier and Loyola. The Nuggets were the only 2-0 team in the event.
Xavier will play four of its next five at home, beginning with a Gulf Coast Athletic Conference match against SUNO at 7 p.m. Monday at the Convocation Center. Xavier (6-0) and SUNO (9-1) have the best records in the GCAC, and the Nuggets are responsible for the Lady Knights' only conference loss.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
No comments:
Post a Comment