Xavier Gold Nuggets sweep Judson on road, earn 15th victory

MARION, Alabama — Kerris Crier and Moira Kirk had six kills apiece, and Xavier University of Louisiana allowed its fewest points in nearly a year in a 25-11, 25-8, 25-11 women's volleyball victory against Judson (Ala.) on Saturday.

The Gold Nuggets (15-5) rebounded from a three-set loss Thursday at Loyola and allowed their fewest points since a 25-4, 25-8, 25-10 victory at Tougaloo on Oct. 22, 2010. Xavier also set a school record with its fourth victory of the season on opponents' courts.

Eight Xavier players had multiple kills, including Iva Bobkova, Chinedu Echebelem and Taylor Reuther with four apiece and Jeanay Butler and Alexandria Rencher with three apiece. Seven Gold Nuggets served aces, and Bobkova had all three of hers — her season best — in the second set.

Xavier finished with 33 kills and nine aces. The Gold Nuggets are 5-0 this season in matches after losses.



"We played well after a long trip here," Xavier coach Christabell Hamilton said. "I got to switch some players' positions, and they stepped up and produced. We want to be ready for anything in case we have to scratch a player late because of illness like we did Thursday against Loyola."

Xavier is 4-4 on opponents' courts after going 6-30 in the program's first three seasons. Including neutral-site matches, the Gold Nuggets are 9-4 on the road this season.

Judson (5-15) lost its seventh in a row and its 14th in 15 matches. The Eagles are 0-4 in two seasons against Xavier.

Xavier will return to Alabama next Saturday for an 11 a.m. match against Mobile. The Gold Nuggets' next home match will start at 3 p.m. Oct. 28 against Faulkner.


Box score


By Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
VISIT: XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
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Benedict wins first game under Woody over Clark Atlanta

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The Benedict College Tigers rushed for a season-high 185 yards against one of the top defenses in the SIAC to take a hard-earned 10-7 Homecoming victory over the Clark Atlanta Panthers on Saturday at Charlie W. Johnson Stadium.

Tyquan Bazemore rushed for a season-high 80 yards, and Milton Myers rushed for a season-high 72 yards for the Tigers, who improved to 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the SIAC. “Our game plan was to run the ball,” said interim head coach James Woody. “We wanted to establish the run and then open up our screen passes and vertical game.”

Benedict finished with 267 total yards of offense against a Clark Atlanta team that ranked third in the SIAC, allowing just 122 yards rushing per game. The Panthers entered the game ranked 41st in the nation in total defense.




But the Tigers were the one to stand out defensively on Saturday. Clark Atlanta finished with 176 yards of total offense and had just 71 in the first half.

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University of West Georgia 23, Saint Augustine's 21

Carrollton, Georgia -- Davis Brackett didn’t exactly have the ideal start to his Saturday afternoon. The University of West Georgia junior place-kicker missed two of his first three field-goal attempts during the Wolves’ showdown with St. Augustine’s College at University Stadium, something that can put a specialist in a fragile state of mind should his number be called upon again.

And in this case, it most definitely would. But Brackett got his redemption by nailing a game-winning, 35-yard field goal as time expired to lift the Wolves to a thrilling, 23-21 victory over the Falcons — marking his second field goal of the fourth quarter after the shaky start for the Harrison High School product.

St. Augustine coach Michael Costa tried to ice Brackett before he booted the decisive kick through, something the Marietta native actually studied up on recently.

“It’s funny. Just a couple of weeks ago I read an article based off of opposing teams calling a timeout before kicking in hopes to ice the kicker. After reading that and kind of knowing what those stats were, you just realize that you practice all the time throughout the week,” Brackett said.



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SCSU Bulldogs look to snap little-recognized 12-game skid

Orangeburg, South Carolina -- For a non-conference matchup, today's first-ever meeting between Georgia State and South Carolina State carries significant meaning for both teams.

The visiting Panthers (1-4) arrive at Oliver C. Dawson Stadium looking to snap a four-game skid with another setback matching last year's loss total in the program's inaugural season.

In the case of the Bulldogs, a victory would give the team its first two-game winning streak of the season. It would also snap a 12-game losing streak to non-HBCU Football Championship Subdivision programs dating back to 1999.




While head coach Buddy Pough, who's 0-9 during his tenure in such games, points out the losses have come against formidable FCS teams such as Wofford, Coastal Carolina, Appalachian State and Georgia Southern, the topic is still a sore one for S.C. State.

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ASU Hornets stay focused on the road ahead

Montgomery, Alabama -- For the first six weeks of the season, Alabama State players needed no motivation. The Hornets were ready to play the season opener and their second game, at Eastern Michigan, featured a rare opportunity to play a Football Bowl Subdivision opponent.

Over the next four weeks, they played games against three teams -- Grambling, Alcorn and Texas Southern -- that had defeated them in 2010 and another (Jackson State) that was the preseason favorite to win the Southwestern Athletic Conference's East Division.

But with a 5-0 conference record and praise from all the black college football polls that are ranking the Hornets No. 1, is Alabama State running out of motivation as Prairie View A&M comes to town?

GAME TIME: 2:00 P.M. ET 
INTERNET Video Streaming: ESPN3



"We have a really mature group of guys that understand it's all about the next step," said ASU football coach Reggie Barlow. "We've experienced success and we're happy about it, but what's next?

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Former Alabama State star to play basketball for Canada’s NBL

Montgomery, Alabama -- Tyrone Leavett, a former standout player with the Notasulga Blue Devils and the Alabama State University Hornets, was a recent first-round draft choice of the London Lightning of the National Basketball League (NBL) of Canada.

Leavett’s 1998-2002 collegiate career with the Hornets saw him finish as the 11th leading scorer in the history of the ASU program with 1,552 points. He also had 944 rebounds, made 83 three-point shots, and hit 74 percent (477-641) of his free throws. He started 115 of the 118 games he played in over the course of his career.



He was a member of the first ASU squad to win a Southwestern Athletic Conference outright. Leavett has spent the past several years playing in Europe and was the third overall pick in the first round.  “Hearing my name called Sunday night during the draft was ...

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A&T defensive challenge awaits Delaware State Hornets

DOVER, Delaware -- Delaware State's football team did not make its last scheduled trip to North Carolina A&T. Instead, the Hornets forfeited the 2009 game because they scheduled a trip to play at the University of Michigan that same weekend. DSU lost that game 63-6 but earned more than $500,000 in the process.

Since those days, DSU has added a new athletic director in Derek Carter, a new head football coach in Kermit Blount and a renewed commitment to being a member of the MEAC. This afternoon, Delaware State (2-4, 0-3 in the MEAC) tries to stop a four-game losing streak when it visits North Carolina A&T (3-2, 2-0) at Aggie Stadium in Greensboro, N.C.

"I've been saying all along that this thing is going to turn and we're just not an inch, a half-inch, a quarter-inch, we're maybe a 16th-of-an-inch from being able to flip it around and make something real positive happen," Blount said.



DSU Hornets (2-4, 0-3) at North Carolina A&T (2-0, 3-2)
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
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