The Gold Nuggets (19-5), seeded first in the tournament, will play second-seeded SUNO (25-9) for the championship at noon Saturday at the Convocation Center. It's the second consecutive year and the third time in four years that Xavier and the Lady Knights will meet in the final.
Xavier seeks its fourth consecutive GCAC Tournament title. The champion will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which will begin Nov. 22.
The Gold Nuggets committed four attack errors, their fewest in a match since the program restarted in 2010, and had 10 kills in each set. They hit .526 in a third set in which they built a 24-3 lead.
"It was the first time this season that every time I went into a huddle, I didn't have anything to say," second-year XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "There were no adjustments to make or any feedback to give them because they did everything we've been telling them to do all season."
Neither Haywood nor Hill, the Nuggets' best middle blockers, committed an attack error. Haywood hit .875 in eight attempts, and Hill hit .467 in 15 swings. Williams hit .400 and had six kills in the final set.
Darian Harris and Ralitsa Hadzhistoyanova served three aces apiece for Xavier. Franziska Pirkl had 26 assists and 11 digs in her eighth double-double of the season but her first in more than a month.
"Fran Pirkl played like an aggressive setter who wanted to play defense," Lawing said. "She was offensive and she was defensive. That's what any coach wants from the setter."
GCAC Player of the Year Chinedu Echebelem had nine digs, and Harris had eight.
Talladega -- the No. 5 seed and the tournament's lone upset winner with a quarterfinal sweep of No. 4 Philander Smith -- had more attack errors than kills in every set and finished at minus-.124 for the match. Carla Novaes and Tanaria Rounds had nine kills apiece for the Lady Tornadoes (13-17).
At SUNO, the Lady Knights beat Edward Waters 25-20, 25-10, 25-11 in the quarterfinals, then rallied for a 25-27, 25-16, 20-25, 25-22, 15-13 semifinal victory against third-seeded Dillard. Xavier had a quarterfinal bye because eighth-seeded Voorhees withdrew from the tournament Wednesday.
Tickets for the championship match will cost $5 for ages 13 and older. There will be free admission for ages 12 and younger and for GCAC-member students with valid school identification cards.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information
Director
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