20 aces help Gold Nuggets defeat Lady Bearcats

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Xavier University of Louisiana served 20 aces Saturday — its second most ever in a match — in a 25-13, 25-15, 25-14 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference volleyball victory against Rust.
     
Next for the Gold Nuggets (10-4) will be a 6 p.m. Friday GCAC match at city rival Dillard. Both teams are 2-0 in the conference.
     
Nine Gold Nuggets served aces. Taylor McGee had a career-best five, Ema Causevic and Tiffany Phillips served three apiece, and Melody Scales, Kayla Black and Eva Le Guillou had two apiece. Vivica Price-Spraggins, Maya Smith and Jennifer Torres served one ace apiece.
     
XULA had eight aces in the first set, three by Causevic. McGee ended the second and third sets with aces.
     
The school record for aces in a match is 22.
     
Zora Barnett hit .818 with nine kills and produced the third-highest hitting percentage ever by a Gold Nugget in a match. Adili Rikondja and Smith had five kills apiece, Phillips had 13 assists, and Torres had eight digs.
     
Tamya Campbell had four kills and five digs for Rust (0-7, 0-4) but also had eight reception errors.
     
XULA outhit the Lady Bearcats .274 to .083 and had advantages of 37-13 in kills, 34-12 in assists and 23-18 in digs.
     
It was the Gold Nuggets' second victory of the day in group play at Philander Smith's Mims Gym. XULA defeated Philander Smith 25-20, 25-11, 26-24.
     
In the GCAC regular season, XULA has won:
     •  Its last 29 matches in a row.
     •  Its last 47 sets in a row.
     •  98 of its last 100 matches.
     •  87 of its last 88 sets.

BOX SCORE

Ed Cassiere, Assistant Athletics Director for Communications
Department of Athletics & Recreation
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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