NEW ORLEANS -- Senior Chinedu Echebelem, recording back-to-back double-doubles for the first time in her career, had 14 kills and 12 digs Saturday to lead Xavier University of Louisiana to a 25-18, 25-16, 25-10 women's volleyball victory against Dillard at XU's Convocation Center.
The victory was the eighth in a row for the Gold Nuggets (8-2, 5-0 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference). Xavier has won 48 consecutive matches against GCAC opponents, 39 in the regular season.
It was the fourth double-double of the season for Echebelem, who hit .379 in 29 attempts, and the 18th of her career. She had 10 kills and 13 digs Friday in a three-set home sweep of Loyola.
"We carried over our energy from the third set against Loyola," Echebelem said. "We played better than we thought we would. Our new players overcame any anxieties they had about playing Dillard, and we didn't let anything distract us."
Claudia Haywood had 10 kills and hit .500 for the Gold Nuggets -- she's hitting .481 this season against conference opponents -- and Jodi Hill, CeCe Williams and Jada Broussard had six kills apiece. Franziska Pirkl had 36 assists, eight digs and two aces, and Darian Harris had 17 digs to reach double figures for the eighth consecutive match.
Mercades Chevis had six kills for Dillard, and Demetria Horton had 16 digs.
Xavier closed the first set with an 11-2 run after trailing 16-14. Echebelem had four kills during a 12-3 second-set run which erased an 11-9 deficit, and Haywood had four kills and Echebelem three during a 13-2 run in the third.
Xavier outhit Dillard .267 to .019 -- .290 to minus-.029 in the final two sets -- and had match advantages of 43-22 in kills, 4-0 in aces and 52-42 in digs.
Xavier defeated its longtime city rival for the 10th consecutive time. They'll meet again Nov. 6 at Dillard to close the regular season.
Xavier's next match will start at 7 p.m. Monday against GCAC member Voorhees at the Convocation Center.
Photo Gallery: XU women's volleyball vs. Dillard
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAATHLETICS
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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