Nuggets acquire their tallest-ever student-athlete

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana has the tallest student-athlete in its volleyball history after the signing of 6-foot-4 right side/middle blocker Elena Duru of Morro d'Alba, Italy.  Duru, who will major in chemistry at XULA, helped her club team finish second in Italy's B2 league. Duru's previous school was Liceo Scientifico Enrico Medi.
     
"Elena will look to be a force at the net," XULA coach Pat Kendrick said.
     
Duru is the 10th 6-footer in the XULA program. The Gold Nuggets' previous tallest players were Sierra Lyons and Ruby Hunt-Thompson, both 6-1. Also 6-1 is 2018-19 signee Jordan Johnson.
     
Duru shares the distinction of tallest XULA female athlete of the Title IX era with Simone Johnson, who played basketball during the 2010-11 season.
     
The Gold Nuggets will open their 11th season Aug. 24 in the Mid-South Crossover Tournament at Bowling Green, Ky., against Cumberlands at 4 p.m. and Georgetown (Ky.) at 8 p.m. The first home date will be Aug. 31 with matches against Point at 11 a.m. and Mobile at 7 p.m. in the Big Easy Blastoff at the Convocation Center. XULA won the last seven Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships and earned seven consecutive automatic bids during that time to the NAIA National Championship.
     
XULA was 23-3 overall and 12-0 in the GCAC in 2017 and became the first Louisiana university to not lose a set in conference play.

2018-19 XULA Volleyball Signees
Name	Pos.	Ht.	Yr.*	Hometown	High School (Previous College)
Marine Angely	OH	5-11	Fr.	Sivry, France	Lycee Arthur Varoquaux
Damilola Dada	RS/MB	5-9	Fr.	Grand Prairie, Texas	Mansfield Summit
Elena Duru	RS/MB	6-4	Fr.	Morro d'Alba, Italy	Liceo Scientifico Enrico Medi
Beatrice Formilan	L	5-10	Fr.	Santorso, Italy	Liceo Scientifico Tron
Jordan Johnson	MB	6-1	Fr.	Kansas City, Mo.	Liberty
Angele McClain	MB/RS	5-8	So.	New Orleans, La.	Newman (Spring Hill)
* XULA athletic classification in 2018-19 Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletic Director for Communications XULAgold.com XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA  twitter.com/xulagold www.facebook.com/xulagold