NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana will travel to play 22nd-ranked Corban at 6 p.m. PST Saturday in the 2018 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round. The NAIA announced Monday the tournament bracket and pairings, which include 44 teams and 12 matches this weekend.
The venue this weekend will be Corban's C.E. Jeffers Sports Center in Salem, Ore., the state capital and about 45 miles south of Portland. The XULA-Corban winner will advance with 11 other first-round winners and the top 20 seeds, which received byes, to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa. Pool play in Sioux City will begin Nov. 27, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, and conclude with the semifinals and final Dec. 1.
The Gold Nuggets (26-6) qualified for NAIA nationals for the eighth consecutive year and eighth time overall with the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference's automatic bid. XULA earned the bid Saturday by defeating Tougaloo 25-3, 25-12, 25-11 in the GCAC Tournament final at SUNO's The Castle.
XULA is 0-7 at nationals, including home losses in 2016 and 2017.
It will be the longest-ever trip for XULA volleyball — it's 2,066 miles as the crow flies from New Orleans to Salem — and the Gold Nuggets' first match in the Pacific Time Zone.
Corban (20-11) earned an at-large bid after finishing fourth in the Cascade Collegiate Conference regular season and reaching the semifinals of the league tournament. The Warriors are one of four Cascade teams in the top 25.
Corban reached the national quarterfinals in 2017 with a team that had eight seniors. Adriana Aguayo, who had 354 kills for that team and a team-leading 344 this season as a junior, is the Warriors' lone first-team all-conference player in 2018.
The Warriors are 32-2 at home during the last three seasons. XULA won 15 times away from home this season, including seven victories in 10 attempts on opponents' courts.
XULA Gold Nuggets
Location: New Orleans, Louisiana
Colors: Gold and white
Twitter: @xulagold
2018 Record: 26-6
2017 Record: 23-3
Conference: Gulf Coast Athletic
2018 Conference Record/Finish: 14-0/1st place regular season (8 teams), tournament champion
NAIA Ranking: unranked
Head Coach: Pat Kendrick
College Record: 516-448 (32nd season)
At XULA: 49-9 (2nd season)
Assistant Coaches: Hilary Lobenstein, Franziska Pirkl
Leader in Kills: Kayla Black, 396
Leader in Hitting Percentage: Vivica Price-Spraggins, .408
Leader in Assists: Eva Le Guillou, 1,011
Leader in Aces: Eva Le Guillou, 46
Leader in Digs: Beatrice Formilan, 419
Leader in Blocks: Vivica Price-Spraggins, 84
Corban Warriors
Location: Salem, Oregon
Colors: Navy and gold
Twitter: @CorbanAthletics
2018 Record: 20-11
2017 Record: 27-9
Conference: Cascade Collegiate
2018 Conference Record/Finish: 15-5/4th place regular season (11 teams), tournament semifinalist
NAIA Ranking: 22nd
Head Coach: Kim McLain
College Record: 86-41 (4th season)
At Corban: 86-41 (4th season)
Assistant Coaches: Dick McLain, Diana Villalpando, Aaron Imig
Leader in Kills: Adriana Aguayo, 344
Leader in Hitting Percentage: Demi Winters, .322
Leaders in Assists: Cierra Leopoldin, 661; Jadyn Mullen, 622
Leader in Aces: Madison Pfaff, 38
Leader in Digs: Kealani Ontai, 494
Leader in Blocks: Demi Winters, 103
Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
XULAgold.com
twitter.com/xulagold
www.facebook.com/xulagold
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