NEW ORLEANS -- For the second time in three years, Xavier University of Louisiana will travel to Kentucky for the NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.The Gold Nuggets (20-5) will play 12th-ranked Lindsey Wilson (32-3) at 6:30 p.m. CST Saturday at Biggers Sports Center in Columbia. It'll be one of 12 first-round matches nationwide, and winners will advance to the NAIA National Championship, presented by J&L Enterprises, in Sioux City, Iowa, from Dec. 2-6.
Xavier qualified for nationals for the fourth consecutive year by defeating SUNO 25-9, 25-19, 25-17 at home Saturday in the championship match of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament. Lindsey Wilson earned an at-large bid after losing 25-18, 25-18, 25-19 to Georgetown (Ky.) in the Mid-South Conference tournament final. The loss ended the Blue Raiders' 28-match win streak.
"It's exciting," XU coach Hannah Lawing said. "We like playing challenging teams, and I know that Lindsey Wilson is an extremely competitive team.
"I know their coach (Andy Cavins) really well, and he's looking forward to hosting us. He's a fantastic coach who will be prepared for us -- and we will be as well-prepared as possible for them. We'll need to stay focused and not let our surroundings affect our performance."
Thirty-six teams qualified for nationals, 12 with opening-round byes. Twenty-two qualifiers were in last year's tournament, but only six have a longer active streak of tournament appearances than Xavier.
The Gold Nuggets never have won in the opening round. They were three points from advancing in four sets at Spring Hill a year ago, but the Badgers rallied and defeated Xavier 15-6 in the fifth.
In the 2012 opening round, Xavier won the first set before losing at 13th-ranked Georgetown (Ky.) 23-25, 25-16, 25-15, 25-20. Xavier's other opening-round loss was 25-13, 25-11, 25-21 at Spring Hill in 2011.
Lindsey Wilson will be Xavier's first top-25 opponent since No. 23 Spring Hill last season. It will be the second meeting between the Gold Nuggets and Blue Raiders. Xavier opened its 2012 season with a 25-16, 25-23, 25-7 loss to Lindsey Wilson in the Lee Invitational at Cleveland, Tenn.
Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
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