Gold Nuggets clinch fifth consecutive GCAC championship

NEW ORLEANS — Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season co-champion Xavier University of Louisnana had four repeat selections, all seniors, on the 2015 All-GCAC volleyball team announced Tuesday.
     
The Gold Nuggets' Claudia Haywood and Franziska Pirkl were chosen to the first team by the GCAC's seven head coaches, and Taylor Reuther and Darian Harris made the second team. Pirkl is first team for the fourth consecutive year.
     
Haywood, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker from Memphis, Tenn., and a graduate of Cordova High School, is second in the GCAC this season with a .275 hitting percentage, fourth with 2.6 kills per set and 13th with 0.6 blocks per set. She is first-team All-GCAC for the second consecutive year.
     
Pirkl, a 5-9 setter from Munich, Germany, and a graduate of Theodolinden Gymnasium, leads the GCAC with 8.9 assists per set, and her 170 digs are the most by a GCAC setter this season. Pirkl's 3,169 career assists are an XU record.
     
Reuther, a 5-7 outside hitter from Metairie, La., and a graduate of St. Mary's Dominican High School in New Orleans, made the second team after three straight first-team appearances from 2011-13. She sat out 2014 because of injury. Reuther is sixth in the GCAC with 2.5 kills per set and 3.6 digs per set, and she is seventh with a .202 hitting percentage.
     
Reuther holds XU career records with 1,268 kills, 1,308 digs and 115 aces.
     
Harris, a 5-4 libero/defensive specialist from Gretna, La., and a graduate of McGehee School in New Orleans, is third in the GCAC with 4.4 digs per set, 12th with 0.3 aces per set and 13th with 24 aces. She is a repeat second-team selection
     
Receiving GCAC honorable menion were Xavier's Jodi Hill, Ruby Hunt-Thompson andCeCe Williams.
     
Xavier (17-7) is the No. 1 seed with a first-round bye in the GCAC Tournament and will play third-seeded Dillard or sixth-seeded Talladega in the semifinals at 10 a.m. Saturday at Philander Smith's Mims Gym in Little Rock, Ark. The Gold Nuggets are the four-time defending champion of the conference tourney.

2015 All-GCAC First Team
Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Claudia Haywood	Xavier	MB	5-11	Sr.	Memphis, Tenn.
Carla Novaes	Talladega	OH	6-1	Jr.	Sao Paulo, Brazil
Franziska Pirkl	Xavier	S	5-9	Sr.	Munich, Germany
Ana Privat	SUNO	L/DS	5-1	Sr.	Novi Sad, Serbia
Shelby Stewart	Dillard	OH	6-0	So.	Houston, Texas
Marija Stojijkovic	SUNO	S	5-8	Fr.	Belgrade, Serbia
Adriana Titonea	SUNO	MB	6-1	Sr.	Sibiu, Romania
Second Team
Name	School	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.	Hometown
Carolyne Edwards	Tougaloo	OH/DS	5-11	Fr.	Southaven, Miss.
Darian Harris	Xavier	L/DS	5-4	Sr.	Gretna, La.
Shannon Jones	SUNO	OH	5-7	Fr.	Thibodaux, La.
Samantha Moore	Philander Smith	OH/S	5-7	Sr.	Benton, Ark.
Taylor Reuther	Xavier	OH	5-7	Sr.	Metairie, La.
Autumn Trimble	Philander Smith	RS	6-2	So.	Mobile, Ala.
Zyra Wright	Philander Smith	OH	5-7	Sr.	Dallas, Texas
Honorable Mention
Demetria Horton, Dillard; Ty Howard, Dillard; Astasia Williams, Dillard; Kaylin Davison, Edward Waters; Victoria Hicks, Philander Smith; Milica Golubovic, SUNO; Jana Reininghaus, SUNO; Kayla Cole, Tougaloo; Jodi Hill, Xavier; CeCe Williams, Xavier; Ruby Hunt-Thompson, Xavier Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold