SUNO is White-hot in overtime victory at Xavier

NEW ORLEANS — SUNO's Devin White scored 25 points Tuesday and made the go-ahead 3-pointer with 43 seconds remaining in overtime in a 67-64 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference men's basketball victory against NAIA No. 18 Xavier University of Louisiana at The Barn.

White, in his second game with the Knights (6-7, 2-1) after playing two seasons at NCAA Division I Northwestern State, also had 12 rebounds and blocked eight shots, one less than the record for a GCAC game. His 3-pointer with three seconds remaining in regulation tied the score at 56.

White scored 20 points, made 3-of-3 3-pointers and blocked six shots after halftime to help the Knights win two in a row for the first time this season. He had 28 points, nine rebounds and five blocks Saturday at Dillard.

SUNO never trailed in overtime and gave Xavier (10-5, 1-1) its third loss in its past 28 home games. SUNO is responsible for two of those losses, including a 55-54 decision this past season. The Knights also knocked Xavier out of first place in the GCAC; through 10 league games none of the eight teams is unbeaten.

Kevin Dukes and Clyde Moore scored 12 points apiece for SUNO. Dukes made his first three field-goal attempts in overtime, and Moore scored the game's final two points with 14 seconds remaining. From that point Xavier missed two shots and grabbed two rebounds but was unable to get a third shot on a frontcourt inbounds play with two-tenths of a second remaining.

Anthony Simmons scored 15 points for Xavier. Denzell Erves had 10 points and 11 rebounds — his first double-double since opening night — and Jamaan Kenner scored 10 points and made a season-best three 3-pointers in four attempts.

The Gold Rush led for approximately 36 minutes and held a 28-17 advantage after Kenner's 3-pointer at 4:41 of the first half. But Merlin Walker's 3-pointer and Moore's 3-point play helped SUNO close the gap to 31-28 by halftime.

Xavier shot better than 50 percent than from the floor in its previous two games but made 34.8 percent against SUNO, including 1-of-8 in overtime. Kenner's 3-pointer from the left corner tied the score at 62 at 2:29 of overtime, but the XU men missed two ensuing shots which would have given them the lead.

SUNO shot 41.8 percent from the floor and outrebounded Xavier 40-35. The Gold Rush committed a season-low eight turnovers and gained 15.

It was the third time in six games that Xavier played overtime.

The Gold Rush will continue a five-game home stand at 7:30 p.m. Friday against Edward Waters.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS  

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

XU Nuggets down a notch to 17th; Rush climb to tie for 18th

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana's women are 17th, and the men are tied for 18th in the NAIA Division I coaches polls announced Monday afternoon.

The polls are the fourth of the 2011-12 season and the first since Dec. 12. Weekly polls will continue through March 7.

Xavier's women, 4-2 since the previous poll and 11-5 overall, fell one spot in the rankings. The XU men, 4-2 since the previous poll and 10-4 overall, climbed three places and are tied for their position with Freed-Hardeman.

All the XU games since the previous poll were on the road. But Tuesday the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush will begin five-game home stands with a doubleheader against Gulf Coast Athletic Conference and city rival SUNO. The women's game will begin at 5:30 p.m., and the men's game will start at 7:30.

Xavier will play more GCAC doubleheaders against Edward Waters on Friday, Fisk on Saturday and Philander Smith next Monday. Both XU teams won at Philander Smith on Saturday in their GCAC openers.

The Gold Nuggets are in the top 25 for the 22nd consecutive time. The Gold Rush appear in the top 25 for the 15th time in 16 polls.

Xavier is the only Gulf Coast Athletic Conference school in either top 25. Tougaloo's men once again are 26th and missed the top 25 by three points.

Oklahoma City's women are a unanimous No. 1 for the third straight poll. In the men's poll unbeaten Oklahoma Baptist replaced Concordia (Calif.) at No. 1. Concordia dropped to fourth.

Xavier is one of 11 schools, one fewer than the previous poll, with women's and men's teams in the top 25. The other schools are Azusa Pacific, Campbellsville, Freed-Hardeman, Georgetown (Ky.), Lee (Tenn.), Lindsey Wilson, Saint Xavier, Shorter, Southern Nazarene and Robert Morris (Chicago).

NAIA Division I Women's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Jan. 8)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Oklahoma City (12) 14-0 312 1
2 Union (Tenn.) 15-1 302 2
3 Freed-Hardeman 14-2 292 3
4 Westmont 14-1 278 5
5 Langston 13-0 267 7
6 Lewis-Clark State 15-2 264 4
7 Lee (Tenn.) 14-1 257 9
8 Cumberlands 14-1 242 14
9 Shawnee State 13-3 222 6
10-tie Saint Xavier 12-4 217 10
10-tie Vanguard 9-3 217 8
12 Lubbock Christian 10-3 211 17
13 Azusa Pacific 9-5 184 11
14 Olivet Nazarene 13-3 182 13
15 Georgetown (Ky.) 12-4 168 20
16 Southern Nazarene 11-4 165 15
17 Xavier 11-5 159 16
18 Campbellsville 12-6 138 12
19 Belhaven 12-5 121 RV
20 Lindsey Wilson 12-4 120 22
21 Shorter 11-3 105 18
22 William Woods 10-4 80 RV
23 Robert Morris (Chicago) 11-3 79 21
24 Westminster (Utah) 9-6 71 RV
25 Lyon 12-3 68 RV

Others receiving votes: Biola 63, Loyola 60, MidAmerica Nazarene 55, St. Gregory's 23, Park 20;, LSU-Shreveport 14, Bethel (Tenn.) 13, Avila 5, Montana State Northern 3, Rio Grande 1, Oklahoma Baptist 1, Columbia (Mo.) 1, Montana Western 1, Martin Methodist 1, St. Catharine 1.


NAIA Division I Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 Poll
(first-place votes in parentheses — records through Sunday, Jan. 8)
Rank Team Record Points Last
1 Oklahoma Baptist (11) 14-0 312 3
2 Shorter (1) 15-0 298 4
3 Robert Morris (Chicago) 15-1 295 2
4 Concordia (Calif.) 13-2 283 1
5 Georgetown (Ky.) 14-2 265 6
6 Texas Wesleyan 10-2 256 7
7 Azusa Pacific 13-2 248 9
8 Rogers State 13-2 241 5
9 Martin Methodist 11-3 239 8
10 Southern Poly 12-2 221 13
11 Mountain State 11-5 206 11
12 Southern Nazarene 12-3 191 16
13 Montana State Northern 15-2 187 19
14 Lindsey Wilson 11-4 183 18
15 Evangel 13-4 174 14

16 The Master's 12-3 149 —

17 Our Lady of the Lake 10-3 133 23

18-tie Xavier 10-4 119 21
18-tie Freed-Hardeman 11-5 119 17
20 Biola 12-4 114 15

21 Lee (Tenn.) 9-3 95 RV

22 Campbellsville 11-5 94 25

23 Montana Western 14-4 93 RV

24 Cal State San Marcos 11-6 84 —

25 Saint Xavier 12-4 70 22

Others receiving votes: Tougaloo 53, Columbia (Mo.) 49, Oklahoma City 46, Westmont 43, Pikeville 27, Westminster (Utah) 23, Cumberland 19, Southwestern Assemblies of God 9, MidAmerica Nazarene 6, St. Catharine 3, John Brown 1, Fresno Pacific 1, Baker 1, Oklahoma Christian 1, Wiley 1, Science & Arts 1, Voorhees 1.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Nuggets extend GCAC streak with a Hall-acious victory

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Keldra Hall scored a career-high 24 points and grabbed 14 rebounds Saturday, and NAIA No. 16 Xavier University of Louisiana extended its Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's basketball win streak with a 63-39 decision against Philander Smith.

Hall's third consecutive double-double — all on the road in the past five days — helped the Gold Nuggets (11-5 overall, 1-0 GCAC) earn their 30th consecutive victory against a conference opponent. Twenty-five of those victories occurred in the regular season.

Xavier has won a season-high four in a row and recorded its eighth double-digit victory.

Hall had 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half and secured her double-double with a defensive rebound with 6:54 remaining. The senior center — who was GCAC Tournament MVP and GCAC Newcomer of the Year in 2010-11 — amassed 54 rebounds and 44 rebounds in 60 minutes during the past three games. On Wednesday Hall grabbed 17 rebounds — the most by an XU female since the start of the 2003-04 season — in a 60-59 victory at 18th-ranked Shorter.

Just missing a double-double for Xavier was Jazmoné Kelly, who didn't score but grabbed a career-high-tying 14 rebounds to go with a career-best nine assists. SiMon Franklin scored 11 points to reach double figures for the sixth time in nine games, and reserve Chelsea Broussard scored a career-high-tying 10 points in her most productive game since opening night.

Xavier scored the first seven points, led 13-2 after Broussard's basket at 12:41 and 31-16 at halftime. Hall's basket with 5:08 remaining gave the Nuggets their biggest lead, 59-29.

The Nuggets overcame a season-worst 37 turnovers by limiting the Lady Panthers (1-12, 0-2) to 23.4 percent from the floor and outrebounding them 57-29. Xavier and Philander Smith produced the same rebound totals in their last meeting before Saturday, an 82-43 XU homecoming victory at The Barn on Nov. 20, 2010.

Reserve Latrice Walton led Philander Smith, in its first GCAC season, with 15 points and seven rebounds.

The Nuggets allowed less than 40 points in a GCAC opener for the second time and the first time since a 73-37 victory at Loyola on Jan. 9, 1997. It was the fifth time this season that Xavier limited an opponent to less than 50 points.

It was the last of six straight road games for Xavier, which will play GCAC and city rival SUNO at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at The Barn. PSBlive.com will webcast the game live.

FINAL STATS

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERISTY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

It'll be ladies first when Xavier visits Philander Smith

NEW ORLEANS — The order of games for Xavier University of Louisiana's basketball doubleheader Saturday at Philander Smith has changed. XU's women, originally scheduled to play at 2 p.m., will play at noon instead. The XU men, originally scheduled for noon, will play at 2 p.m.

Both games will be played at Mims Gym in Little Rock, Arkansas.

The games will be the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference openers for both XU teams. The Gold Nuggets are 10-5 and ranked 16th in NAIA Division I, and the Gold Rush are 9-4 and ranked 21st. Philander Smith's women are 1-11 overall and 0-1 in the GCAC, and the men are 5-8 and 1-0. This is Philander Smith's first GCAC season.

The games will be the sixth in a row on the road for both XU teams. Xavier will play Tuesday at The Barn in a GCAC doubleheader against city rival SUNO, with the women tipping off at 5:30 p.m. and the men at 7:30. The first 300 XU students with a valid XU ID card will be admitted free; other XU students will play $5 for admission.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

Hall's double-double helps Xavier rally past Southern Poly

MARIETTA, Ga. — Senior center Keldra Hall produced Xavier University of Louisiana's first double-double of the season — 16 points and 13 rebounds — to lead the Gold Nuggets in a 76-58 women's basketball victory Tuesday against Southern Polytechnic.

Xavier (9-5), ranked 16th in NAIA Division I and playing its first game in 13 days, used 16-3 and 18-4 second-half runs to erase a 30-27 halftime deficit.

Hall, recording her fifth double-double in two seasons and her highest rebound total of 2011-12, had 11 points and nine rebounds in the second half. Her 3-point play with 13:12 remaining capped the Nuggets' first burst of the period and gave them a 45-37 lead. Xavier's second run covered the final five minutes.

Jazmoné Kelly had 15 points, a season best, and nine rebounds for Xavier — she had 12 points and seven rebounds in the second half — and Danielle Kennebrew scored a career-high-tying 13 points. Jasmine Grant, Dalila Robinson and Brandi Young scored nine points apiece,

SiMon Franklin's only field goal of the game put Xavier ahead to stay, 38-36, with 14:52 remaining.

Tara Hay scored 18 of her career-high 25 points in the second half for Southern Poly (1-11), which had six available players because of injuries. Dominique Smith had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Jacqueline Schadeck had a season-high 10 points. Chase Morgan grabbed 14 rebounds.

Xavier, despite making one of its first 13 shots from the floor, led 17-9 after Grant's two free throws at 9:43 of the first half. But Hay had five points during a 17-3 run which gave the Lady Hornets their biggest lead, 26-20, with 2:23 remaining.

Southern Poly outshot the Nuggets 36 to 24.2 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 25-20 in the first half, but in the second half Xavier outshot the Lady Hornets 54.5 to 25.9 percent and outrebounded them 27-14. The Nuggets scored all 15 of their second-chance points after halftime.

Xavier, on the road for three games this week, will play NAIA No. 18 Shorter at 6 p.m. EST Wednesday. The Nuggets are responsible for Shorter's only loss this season, a 56-51 decision at The Barn on Dec. 3.

NOTES: The meeting was the teams' first . . . The victory was Xavier's fourth in five games this season against Southern States Athletic Conference members . . . The Nuggets' 49 second-half points were their second most of the season, topped only by 51 at Georgetown (Ky.) in the Chick-fil-A Classic on Nov. 12 . . . The Nuggets have trailed at halftime seven times this season but rallied to win three of those games . . . Xavier used three Georgia residents: Kennebrew, Robinson and Crystal Wallace. Robinson had her second best point total of the season, and Wallace grabbed two rebounds in her first game since Nov. 29 . . . Fans and media desiring halftime and final scores of XU basketball games via text message can send an e-mail to ecassier@xula.edu. Include the words "text message" in the subject of the e-mail, and indicate if scores from both teams or a specific team are desired. Xavier offers the service for free, but standard text message rates will apply.

BOX SCORE

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Top-ranked Oklahoma City throttles XU Gold Nuggets, 86-48

LAS VEGAS — Senior guard Dietra Caldwell scored nine of her 16 points during a decisive second-half run Tuesday which powered Oklahoma City to an 86-48 women's basketball victory against Xavier University of Louisiana in the Vegas Hoopla.

The Stars (10-0), ranked first in NAIA Division I, gave the 16th-ranked Gold Nuggets (7-5) their biggest defeat since a 91-53 loss to Oklahoma City in the second round of the 2003 NAIA National Championship.

It was business as usual for Oklahoma City, which has outscored opponents by an average of 44.7 points this season. The Stars never trailed, led 37-22 at halftime, then clinched the victory with a 24-1 burst in the first 7½ minutes of the second half. Caldwell closed the run with a 3-pointer and her final two points of the game to give the Stars a 61-23 advantage.

Caldwell is in her first season at Oklahoma City after transferring from NCAA Division I UTEP, where she played three seasons and was Conference USA Freshman of the Year.

Nicollette Smith had 14 points for the Stars. Taylor Booze, a former LSU player, scored 12, and Tiffany Goldwire had 11 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and three steals.

Jazmoné Kelly had 10 points, five rebounds and three steals for Xavier, and SiMon Franklin and Jasmine Grant scored seven points apiece.

The Stars outshot the Gold Nuggets 42.4 to 34 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 48-35. Oklahoma City made 32-of-47 free throws and had a staggering 41-6 advantage in points off turnovers. Xavier committed 29 turnovers, its most in nearly two years, and 29 personal fouls.

Oklahoma City is 5-0 all-time against Xavier and beat the Nuggets for the second time this year. The Stars won 67-51 on March 18 in second round of the national tournament.

Oklahoma City finished 2-0 in this event; the Stars defeated Pikeville 97-39 Monday. Xavier will play its second and final game of the Vegas Hoopla at 4 p.m. PST Wednesday (6 p.m. CST) against Sterling, which is 5-5 after its 60-55 victory Tuesday against Viterbo.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, SID

VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA

Xavier gets rematch at Spring Hill in NAIA opening round

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana will get a rematch with Spring Hill on Saturday in the 2011 NAIA Volleyball National Championship Opening Round.

The NAIA announced Sunday the 32 qualifiers and pairings for 12 first-round matches. Xavier (23-6) and Spring Hill (38-1) will meet at the Arthur Outlaw Rec Center on Spring Hill's campus in Mobile, Ala. Starting time has not been determined.

The Gold Nuggets earned an automatic bid to nationals after beating SUNO 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday in the championship match of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Nashville, Tenn. The appearance at nationals is Xavier's first in four seasons of intercollegiate competition.

Xavier beat SUNO 25-12, 25-17, 25-20 Saturday to win the
Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament at Nashville, Tenn.

(click on photo to enlarge)

Spring Hill defeated Xavier 25-10, 25-20, 25-12 at Mobile on Sept. 6. Since then the Gold Nuggets have won 22 of 26 matches, including a pair of school-record eight-match win streaks. The Nuggets also set program records for victories, home victories (8), conference victories (10) and victories on opponents' courts (6). Xavier was 11-26 a year ago.

The Badgers won 38 in a row before losing 25-22, 25-17, 20-25, 25-21 Satruday to third-ranked Lee (Tenn.) in the title match of the Southern States Athletic Conference Championships at Biloxi, Miss. Spring Hill beat Lee in five sets in mid-September.

"Spring Hill is a strong program. To be ranked 16th and have an astounding 38-1 record is very respectable," said Xavier first-year coach Christabell Hamilton. "We have grown a lot as a team since our first meeting, and I am excited for the match this weekend. This will be a good challenge for us."

Xavier is 0-10 all-time against Spring Hill, with the six most recent losses occurring in straight sets.

Saturday's other first-round matches are Carroll (Mont.) at College of Idaho, Montreat at Indiana Wesleyan, La Sierra at Vanguard, Robert Morris (Chicago) at Missouri Baptist, Point Park at Indiana Tech, Cal State San Marcos at Point Loma Nazarene, Lindsey Wilson at Taylor, Oklahoma Baptist at Kansas Wesleyan, MidAmerica Nazarene at Bellevue, Grand View at Olivet Nazarene and Freed-Hardeman at Indiana East. First-round byes went to Azusa Pacific, Biola, Columbia (Mo.), Concordia (Calif.), Embry-Riddle (Fla.), Fresno Pacific, Lee, Lewis-Clark State, Morningside, Rocky Mountain, Southern Oregon and Texas at Brownsville.

The winners of the Saturday matches will advance with the 12 teams with byes to the Tyson Events Center/Gateway Arena in Sioux City, Iowa, for the NAIA National Championship presented by CNOS Foundation Nov. 29-Dec. 3.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

XU Gold Nuggets come from 16 down to win at Georgetown (Ky.)

GEORGETOWN, Kentucky -- Senior center Keldra Hall scored eight points during a closing rally Saturday which lifted NAIA No. 16 Xavier University to a 79-76 women's basketball victory against host Georgetown in the Chick-fil-A Classic.

The Gold Nuggets (3-1) trailed by 16 points late in the first half, 41-28 at halftime and 70-61 with 4:09 remaining before an 18-6 run in which they scored on their final eight possessions.

Hall had a pair of 3-point plays during the rally, with the second putting Xavier ahead to stay at 71-70 with 1:54 remaining.

"It's hard on the road," Xavier coach Bo Browder said. "But the Gold Nuggets know how to fight!"

Hall finished with 10 points and five rebounds. Brandi Young scored 17 points -- including 2-of-2 3-pointers and 9-of-10 free throws -- Jasmine Grant scored 12 and Carmen Holcombe and Jessica Savannah had 11 apiece. Grant made 4-of-8 3-pointers. Holcombe added a career-high eight rebounds and Savannah, a freshman, did not miss any of her seven shots.

Grant's final 3-pointer followed a Holcombe steal and gave Xavier a 74-70 lead with 1:42 remaining. Young made 3-of-4 free throws in the final 12 seconds.

It was the first time in five years that the Nuggets won despite surrendering 75 or more points.

Andrea Howard had 19 points and six rebounds for Georgetown (4-1). Mikkah Rogers scored a season-high 18 points. Jessica Waddle had 17 points and five rebounds, and Devon Golden had 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.

Howard scored 15 first-half points and passed to Waddle for a 3-pointer which gave the Tigers their biggest lead, 41-26, with 27 seconds remaining in the first half. Grant answered with a 3-pointer on the next possession.

Georgetown outshot the Nuggets 39.6 to 35.3 percent from the floor and outrebounded them 46-35.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Xavier Nuggets outlast Dillard, reach title round of GCAC tourney

Moira Kirk

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — No deficit, it seems, is too great for the Xavier University of Louisiana women's volleyball team.

Moira Kirk had 13 kills and four blocks, and Taylor Reuther had 10 kills, 23 digs and two aces Friday to help the Gold Nuggets rally for a 20-25, 18-25, 27-25, 26-24, 17-15 victory against Dillard in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament.

"It was such a great comeback," said Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton, whose team trailed 15-8 in the fourth set and fought off four Dillard match points — one in the third, two in the fourth and one in the fifth. "When we won I was jumping up and down like a kid, which is something I never do."

Taylor Reuther

Xavier (22-6), the tourney's top seed and only unbeaten team, will play Dillard or SUNO in the championship round of the double-elimination event at 1 p.m. Saturday. It's the first time in the Gold Nuggets' four seasons that they reached the finals.

Dillard, the defending champion and No. 2 seed, and third-seeded SUNO will play at 11 a.m. Saturday in an elimination match. SUNO stayed alive with a 23-25, 25-12, 25-11, 25-9 victory against Tougaloo and a 25-18, 25-12, 25-16 victory against Talladega.

A Xavier victory in the 1 p.m. match will end the tournament. If the Gold Nuggets lose, they and their opponent will meet again at 3 p.m. to decide the championship and the GCAC's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championship, which begins next Saturday.

Patrice Hightower

Chinedu Echebelem's fifth-set kill, her 10th of the contest, saved a Dillard match point and tied the score at 15, then Xavier advanced with its seventh straight victory after consecutive Dillard attack errors.

"We have such fight and such heart," said Reuther, whose kill-dig double-double was her 11th of the season. "I always know we have a chance to come back."

Jeanay Butler and Iva Bobkova had eight kills apiece for Xavier, and Patrice Hightower had nine digs and a career-best 45 assists

"We communicated a lot more those final two sets," Hightower said. "We made adjustments on defense and in our blocking. I wasn't surprised we came back because we've done it all year. I have faith and trust in my teammates. I love this team so much."

Chinedu Echebelem

The Gold Nuggets have won 10 consecutive matches which lasted longer than three sets. They're 3-0 this season against Dillard (18-11), the defending tournament champion.

Xavier's current victory streak includes three matches in which the Nuggets trailed by a set. It was the second time in the program's history that Xavier rallied from a 2-sets-to-none deficit — the other time was against Dillard a year ago at The Barn.

"Those first two sets we weren't playing Xavier volleyball," Hamilton said. "We were not looking like ourselves and that's what frustrated me so much."

Reuther produced 17 digs in the final three sets and finished with a career high.

Jeanay Butler

"We started fighting as a team instead of individually," Reuther said. "That's why we meshed so well and came back as strongly as we did."

There were 15 ties and five lead changes in the third set, which Xavier capped with kills by Echebelem and Bobkova, but the Nuggets never led in the fourth until Kirk closed the set with consecutive kills. Kirk, the GCAC Freshman of the Year, had five kills in that set after the Nuggets trailed by seven.

The fifth set had 10 ties and four lead changes. Xavier led 8-5 after a Dillard attack error, and the Lady Bleu Devils had match point after Paula Ogbevoen's kill made it 15-14. But the Nuggets rallied one more time in a deciding set in which Dillard aided Xavier with eight errors.

"We never, ever give up," Hightower said.

Box score

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

VISIT: GCACSPORTS

XU Gold Nuggets 2-0 on opening day of GCAC Tournament

NASHVILLE, Tennessee -- Top-seeded Xavier University of Louisiana defeated eighth-seeded Edward Waters 25-6, 25-11, 25-14 and fourth seeded Talladega 17-25, 25-12, 25-11, 25-21 in Thursday's opening rounds of the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference women's volleyball tournament.

Moira Kirk had 13 kills, and Taylor Reuther had eight kills and four aces against Edward Waters. Both freshmen had 17 kills against Talladega, and Reuther had 12 digs for her team-leading 10th kill-dig double-double of the season.

Xavier (21-6) needs two victories to win the tournament and secure the GCAC's automatic bid to next week's NAIA National Championship. The Gold Nuggets will play SUNO or Dillard, which met late Thursday, at 6 p.m. Friday. The eight-team, double-elimination event will conclude Saturday.

"The girls came out and played well," Xavier first-year coach Christabell Hamilton said. "The second match we started slowly, but we got it together and finished well. We're really growing and maturing as a team, and that's the most important thing at this part of the season."

Xavier trailed 3-0 and 10-8 in the fourth set against Talladega (21-14), but took the lead for good at 17-16 on a kill by Reuther, who scored five of the Nuggets' final nine points on attacks. Reuther had eight kills in the final set.

Celeste Poe had 13 digs against Talladega, and Iva Bobkova served a season-best five aces. Bobkova and Jeanay Butler served three aces apiece against Edward Waters (4-29).

The Nuggets have won six straight, the second longest streak in the program's four seasons and their best since an eight-match streak in September. They are 7-0 this season on neutral courts.

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVESITY OF LOUISIANA
VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Jackson siblings lead Xavier to sixth straight GCAC titles

Zahari Jackson

Kwame Jackson

CLINTON, Mississippi — Freshman siblings Zahri and Kwame Jackson won individual championships for Xavier University of Louisiana at the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Cross Country Championships on Saturday.

Both Xavier teams won their sixth consecutive GCAC team championships — the women by 34 points, the men by 41 — and both earned automatic bids to the NAIA National Championships for the third time in four years. The national meet will be Nov. 19 in Vancouver, Wash.

Zahri Jackson ran 5,000 meters in 19 minutes, 20.40 seconds to defeat 40 women — including SUNO's Monicah Jepkemboi, the defending champion — and score her second consecutive individual victory. Jepkemboi, the leader until the final 175 yards, was second in 19:31.69. XU freshman Catherine Fakler was third in a career-best 19:32.56.

"I never led until I passed (Jepkemboi) at the end of the race," Jackson said. "I stayed within three feet of her until then. I just ran her pace. You never know for sure if you can outsprint someone at the end. You've just got to have faith in yourself and go."

Jackson recorded the third-fastest 5K in XU women's history and owns the program's fastest three times. Jackson has five top-10 finishes and four top-fives in seven collegiate meets. Her time Saturday was the second-fastest in 11 seasons by a female at the GCAC Championships.

Kwame Jackson ran 8,000 meters in 28:12.09 to defeat 37 men and score his first collegiate victory. It was his fifth top-10 and third top-five this season. He finished about 5½ seconds ahead of senior teammate Ray Walston, the 2009 GCAC champion, and nearly 31 seconds ahead of junior teammate Matt Pieri, the defending champion. Walston was GCAC runner-up for the third time. Pieri was top-four for the third straight year.

Matt Pieri

XU coach Joseph Moses said Pieri, the Gold Rush's fastest runner four times this season, was hampered by a calf injury he suffered this week during a workout.

"Had Matt been healthy, I would've expected a different outcome today because he had run well this season," Moses said. "But Kwame was clearly capable of winning. He ran a strong race, a smart race. Kwame's a worthy champion."

Based on top-10 finishes in this meet, Xavier produced six women's and six men's All-GCAC runners. Joining Zahri Jackson and Fakler among the All-GCAC women were Anna D'Souza (fifth place, career-best 20:24.93), Darian Towns (sixth, Xavier-best 20:36.68), Hali Yarmush (seventh, 20:42.77) and Donyé Coleman (ninth, 20:55.23). D'Souza became the third Gold Nugget to be All-GCAC four times, and it was her third top-five at the league meet.

On the All-GCAC men's team from Xavier were Kwame Jackson, Walston (28:17.63), Pieri (28:43.04), Javon Mead (fifth, 29:07.21), Emmanuel Detiege (eighth, 30:27.72) and Jamaal Williams (ninth, 30:33.35). Of the seven XU freshmen, all four from the women's team and all three from the men's team made all-conference.

Moses, in his seventh season at XU, was selected GCAC Coach of the Year by his peers for the fifth time on the women's side and the sixth time on the men's.

The six straight GCAC championships for the Gold Nuggets and Gold Rush mark the third and fourth times that a Xavier program has won that many in a row on the league or NAIA unaffiliated group level. Xavier won six consecutive Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships in men's outdoor track and field from 1938-43. The men's tennis program has an active streak of six straight — GCAC titles in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010 and an NAIA unaffiliated group championship in 2011.


Results:  Men    Women

By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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One is not a lonely number for XU in the NAIA polls

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana — Xavier University of Louisiana received one point Wednesday — the same number as this past week — in both of the NAIA Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 polls. But that pair of ones is significant.

For the Gold Nuggets, it's the first time since 2002 that they received a vote in consecutive polls, and it's the first time since that same season that they were mentioned in the poll entering the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Championships. For the XU men, it's the first time they received a vote this late in a season.

Both XU teams will compete Saturday in the GCAC meet at Choctaw Trails Course in Clinton, Miss. — women's race at 8 a.m., men's race at 8:30 — and both the Gold Nuggets and the Gold Rush are trying to win a sixth consecutive team championship. XU junior Matt Pieri is the defending men's individual champion.

NAIA Women's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Azusa Pacific (21) 652 1 2 Cal State San Marcos (2) 633 2 3 British Columbia 584 4 4 College of Idaho 576 8 5 Friends 572 6 6 Olivet Nazarene 570 5 7 Northwest Christian 529 3 8 Biola 516 7 9 Concordia (Ore.) 479 9 10 Carroll (Mont.) 459 11 11 Morningside 458 10 12 The Master's 423 12 13 Saint Xavier 371 13 14 Lewis-Clark State 359 15 15 Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 355 14 16 Westmont 350 16 17 Taylor 309 17 18 Indiana Wesleyan 261 19 19 (tie) Concordia (Neb.) 260 NR 19 (tie) Southern Oregon 260 18 21 Roberts Wesleyan 246 20 22 Rocky Mountain 208 NR 23 Dordt 194 21 24 Aquinas 172 22 25 Milligan 155 23 Others receiving votes: Viterbo 114, Point Loma Nazarene 107, Shawnee State 80, Cornerstone 56, Eastern Oregon 35; Northwestern (Iowa) 23, SCAD Savannah 22, Judson (Ill.) 21, Spring Arbor 8, Northwest (Wash.) 7, Park 3, Grand View 3, Xavier 1,Southwestern (Kan.) 1, Huntington (Ind.) 1, Trinity Christian 1, Wayland Baptist 1, Cumberlands 1, Vanguard 1. NAIA Men's Cross Country Coaches' Top 25 Poll(first-place votes in parentheses) Rank Team Points Last 1 Oklahoma Christian (22) 622 1 2 Shorter 589 2 3 The Master's 566 5 4 Southern Oregon 554 7 5 Friends 520 9 6 Lewis-Clark State 517 6 7 Shawnee State 491 8 8 Cal State San Marcos 485 4 9 College of Idaho 483 21 10 Wayland Baptist 451 10 11 Concordia (Ore.) 430 3 12 Aquinas 400 12 13 Bryan 387 13 14 Westmont 356 14 15 St. Francis (Ill.) 340 16 16 Concordia (Neb.) 305 15 17 Oklahoma Baptist 294 18 18 Olivet Nazarene 289 11 19 Southwestern (Kan.) 277 17 20 Eastern Oregon 258 19 21 Biola 243 20 22 British Columbia 179 22 23 Siena Heights 136 24 24 Morningside 124 RV 25 SCAD Savannah 111 RV Others receiving votes: Graceland 98, Embry-Riddle (Fla.) 96, Vanguard 90, Berea 85, Carroll (Mont.) 48, Cornerstone 27, Azusa Pacific 24, Baker 20, Huntington (Ind.) 19, Rocky Mountain 8, Point Loma Nazarene 4, Cumberlands 3, Xavier 1, Dordt 1, Doane 1, By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA VISIT: XULAATHLETICS

Stallings, Smith, Rencher step up in Gold Nuggets' victory

NEW ORLEANS — Of the seven freshmen on the Xavier University of Louisiana women's volleyball team, Morgan Stallings, Kia Smith and Alexandria Rencher were the only ones who had played fewer than half the sets this season. Yet all three played important roles Saturday in the Gold Nuggets' 25-13, 25-8, 25-15 Gulf Coast Athletic Conference victory against Edward Waters at Dillard's Dent Hall.

Stallings, who entered the match with six kills, equaled that number in the third set and finished with nine. Smith and Rencher combined for 32 of the Nuggets' 35 assists, with Smith collecting a season-best 19.
All three filled in capably for Chinedu Echebelem and Patrice Hightower, who missed the match because of injuries. But Xavier (14-4, 8-0) didn't miss a step and completed a two-day, three-match sweep against GCAC opponents at Dillard.

Xavier University of Louisiana's 2011 Women's Volleyball Team
      Front row, from left: Kia Smith, Chinedu Echebelem, Joyy Joseph, Celeste Poe, Patrice Hightower and Alexandria Rencher.
      Back row, from left: Morgan Stallings, Kerris Crier, Iva Bobkova, Moira Kirk, Jeanay Butler and Taylor Reuther.
(Click photo to enlarge)

The Gold Nuggets have won five of their last six matches and 13 of their last 15. Saturday's match was Xavier's fifth in four days.

"We expect all our players to be ready to go at any time," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "Morgan, Kia and Alex haven't played as much as the others, but they've continued to work hard in practice and improve their skills. It was nice to see them step up and play a part in this win."

Moira Kirk hit .421 and led Xavier with 10 kills and four aces. Sophomore Kerris Crier had eight kills and a .727 attack percentage — the first time she's topped .700 in 10 or more attempts and her first time this season with no attack errors. Taylor Reuther had seven kills, seven digs, three aces and hit .429.

Reuther had three kills and three aces during a 13-4 run which gave the Nuggets a 22-11 lead in the opening set. Xavier got four kills and two aces from Kirk and two aces from Iva Bobkova in an 18-2 second-set run. Stallings had three kills during an 8-0 run in the final set.

Xavier finished with 39 kills and hit .297. The Nuggets served 14 aces and finished with a 47-6 ace advantage in their three GCAC matches.

Edward Waters (3-19, 0-8) lost to Xavier for the second time this season.

The Nuggets won't play their next GCAC match until Oct. 29, when they visit second-place SUNO. In between there will be five non-conference matches, with the next one at 7 p.m. Thursday at city rival Loyola. That's a makeup of a Sept. 4 postponement due to Tropical Storm Lee.

Box score

Ed Cassiere

By Ed Cassiere,Sports Information Director
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