Nuggets win at Talladega for 4th straight victory

TALLADEGA, Ala. — Freshman Ruby Hunt-Thompson hit .778 Saturday — including kills on her first eight attacks — and helped Xavier University of Louisiana earn a 25-17, 25-11, 25-18 volleyball victory against Talladega.
      
The Gold Nuggets (12-7, 7-1 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference) won their fourth in a row and completed a two-match regular-season sweep of the Lady Tornadoes (6-18, 1-8).
      
Hunt-Thompson sat out the first set, then produced a pair of kills, including the second-set clincher. Hunt-Thompson connected on six consecutive attacks in the final set before producing her first non-kill, an error, on the next-to-last rally.
      
Hunt-Thompson and Patricia Young Yen had three blocks apiece for Xavier.
      
Taylor Reuther hit .438 with eight kills and eight digs for Xavier, Jada Broussard had five kills and hit .667. Darian Harris had nine digs, and freshman walk-on Arielle Sears had 13 assists, four digs and her first collegiate ace. CeCe Wulliams served a pair of first-set aces and had seven digs overall.
      
Carla Novaes had 11 kills and six attack errors for Talladega, which swept Edward Waters on Friday for its first conference victory.
      
Xavier trailed 8-5 in the opening set but took the lead for good, 12-11, on an attack error. The Gold Nuggets led 5-0 and 18-6 in the second set and took the lead for good in the third set, 15-14, on a Hunt-Thompson kill. The match ended on Talladega's eighth service error.
      
The Gold Nuggets hit .222 overall and had 32 kills, 39 digs and eight blocks. They had no reception errors for the second time this season and the first time on the road since August 2013.
      
Xavier remained a half-match behind SUNO — which won 25-23, 25-17, 25-16 at home Saturday against Tougaloo — in the GCAC. Next for the Gold Nuggets will be a 1 p.m. match Saturday at Tougaloo. Xavier's home finale will start at 1 p.m. Oct. 31 against SUNO.
      
NOTES:  The road victory was the Nuggets' first in 37 days . . . Against GCAC opponents, Xavier has won 55 of its last 56 regular-season matches and 66-of-67 overall . . . Xavier is 10-0 all-time against Talladega.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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