The Gold Nuggets (25-7), the tournament champion in 2011 and 2012, extended their school-record win streak to 19 matches. Xavier will play SUNO for the title at 11 a.m. Saturday. The winner will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin Nov. 23.
Moira Kirk led Xavier with 12 kills and hit .458. Chinedu Echebelem had 10 kills and hit .562 — her highest percentage ever in a match with 10 or more attacks — Claudia Haywood had nine kills and hit .538, and Taylor Reuther had nine kills and hit .308.
Defensively, Jodi Chatters had 13 digs, Reuther 12 and Echebelem nine. Kirk, Haywood and Franziska Pirkl had three blocks apiece. Reuther will enter Saturday's final with 999 career digs.
Xavier served five aces, two apiece by Chatters and Echebelem. Pirkl had 41 assists.
Zia Mose and Sarina Thompson had eight kills apiece for Talladega (12-25).
Xavier never trailed in any set. It was 7-6 in the first set, then Xavier went on a 9-3 run which included two kills and a block by Reuther and consecutive aces by Chatters. Jodi Hill's kill ended the set.
Two Echebelem kills sparked a 5-0 run to open the second set. The Nuggets closed with three consecutive kills, two by Haywood and the last by Echebelem.
Talladega scored six consecutive points to tie the third set at 17, but Haywood had three kills thereafter to help the Nuggets pull away. Kirk's kill ended the match and gave Xavier its 42nd consecutive victory against GCAC opponents.
Xavier outhit Talladega .294 to .094 and had a 45-29 advantage in kills.
The victory was the 100th all-time for Xavier, which is in its sixth season of intercollegiate competition. The Gold Nuggets are 100-95 overall, 70-22 in the last three seasons.
SUNO defeated Fisk 25-19, 25-20, 25-16 in the other semifinal.
By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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