Tournament MVP Haywood is GCAC Player of the Week

Claudia Haywood

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's Claudia Haywood, the MVP of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball tournament, earned the GCAC Player of the Week award for Nov. 4-10.
   
It's the final weekly honor of the 2013 season and the fifth for Xavier. Haywood, a sophomore middle blocker from Memphis, Tenn., and a graduate of Cordova High School, is a first-time recipient.
   
Haywood hit .441 with 21 kills and nine blocks in three tournament matches. She hit .500 with nine blocks in the final two rounds and had nine kills and a season-high-tying six blocks in the Gold Nuggets' 25-23, 25-18, 25-15 championship victory against SUNO on Saturday. Haywood had four kills and four blocks in the final set of the championship match and ended the tournament with a kill.
   
The GCAC Tournament title earned Xavier an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin Nov. 23. The tournament championship and bid to nationals are the third in a row for the Gold Nuggets, who are 26-7 and have a school-record 20-match win streak. The NAIA will announce tournament pairings Monday.


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS