Gold Nuggets drop pair of matches at STU Invitational

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida — Xavier University of Louisiana lost 25-21, 25-18, 25-11 to St. Thomas (Fla.) and 25-18, 26-28, 25-14, 25-23 to Coastal Georgia Friday on the opening day of the STU Invitational volleyball tournament.
     
The Gold Nuggets (1-5) were outhit .227 to .147 for the day.
     
Notable XULA individuals:
     
•  Tiffany Phillips extended her streak of assist/dig doubles to six. She had 22 assists and 10 digs against St. Thomas and 41 assists and 10 digs against Coastal Georgia. It's XULA's longest double-double streak sinceTaylor Reuther's seven consecutive matches (kills and digs) in 2013.
    
 •  Juliana Tomasoni had 15 kills and 18 digs against Coastal Georgia. It was her third double-double of the season.
    
 •  Amanda Perry had 12 digs in the first match and 14 in the second to extend her streak of double-figure performances to five matches.
    
 •  Kayla Jones had 10 digs against Coastal Georgia — her first double-figure performance of the season and the eighth of her career.
     
•  Monet Fontaine and Hasani Salaam had nine kills apiece against Coastal Georgia.
     
•  Adili Rikondja had three blocks against St. Thomas to match her career high.
    
In the lone set the Gold Nuggets won, they rallied from a 23-22 deficit and clinched on their fourth set point.
    
St. Thomas is 5-0, and Coastal Georgia is 3-3. In the final match Friday, St. Thomas rallied for a 19-25, 22-25, 25-22, 25-16, 15-13 victory against NAIA No. 2 Missouri Baptist.
     
The Gold Nuggets will play Saturday at 10 a.m. EDT against Missouri Baptist and 4 p.m. against Indiana Tech. XULA will play its home opener next Friday.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
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from THE EDITOR, DWIGHT FLOYD COMMENTARY: FAMU Board of Trustees Stifles Change

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- In public administration we are taught to implement change in increments of small, non-abrupt changes that will add up over a period of time. To make dramatic changes you need the support of your employer and stakeholders (the people who most associate with the organization, benefit from it, or are somehow impacted by its existence).

So how did the positive changes at FAMU lead to a rejection of Dr. Elmira Mangum’s leadership? Most organizations have associates with privileged access. Sometimes that privilege leads to personal rewards. In other cases, it influences how the organization is run, who gets hired, and how much certain employees are paid. So, imagine what happens when that access is abruptly cut off.

Since Dr. Mangum first arrived she has focused on the mission without regard to politics. She made tremendous change to the organization, and from the very beginning denied access to people used to having the privilege. She was all business and that rubbed some folks the wrong way. Sadly, some of these folks are the reason that dramatic change is needed.

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FAMU Rattlers Hold Scrimmage in Preparation For Season

TALLAHASSEE, Florida -- Coach Alex Wood took the Rattlers through a very controlled scrimmage today in preparation for the Sept. 3 opening game against the Hurricanes of the University of Miami at Hard Rock Stadium. The players did about a 90-minute practice on the bottom field, affectionately known to former football players as “The Pit.”

Today’s practice had a concentration on situation planning. From onside kick, to running out the clock, to field goal block and other things that could occur during a game, the Rattlers covered it. Wood’s goal, to leave no stone unturned about situations that could possibly occur during a football game.



Wide receiver Montavius Williams is just excited to get started on a new season. “Last season is over. It has been on our minds since the last game. There’s only one way to truly erase last season, and that’s to go out an prove that all the work we did was for a purpose. We’re playing with a chip on our shoulders and we just can’t wait for the opportunity to play and prove that we’ve bought in and a re ready to compete,” he said.

One main highlight of the day was the field goal block team. Keenan Anderson, who is about 6’6” and 360 lbs, blocked a kick and scooped up the deflection and ran about 70-yards for the score. The rest of the kick block team escorted him to the end zone. He rolled over in the end zone to the cheers of the entire team. At post-practice Wood addressed the play. “That was a good touchdown Keenan. I started to blow the whistle, but I let you keep going,” Wood jokingly said. Athletic director, Milton Overton, who was watching practice went over to Anderson to congratulate him for “making the big guys look good.”




FLORIDA A&M UNIVERSITY ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS 

Gold Nuggets swept; 5 matches next week in NOLA

MIAMI GARDENS, Florida  — Xavier University of Louisiana volleyball lost 25-20, 25-23, 25-20 to NAIA No. 2 Missouri Baptist and 17-25, 25-8, 25-17, 25-19 to Indiana Tech Saturday to finish 0-4 in the STU Invitational.
     
The Gold Nuggets (1-7) got two-match totals of 16 kills and 36 digs from Juliana Tomasoni, 15 kills fromMonet Fontaine, 13 kills from Terri Drake, 34 digs fromAmanda Perry and 24 digs from Kayla Jones.
     
After eight consecutive out-of-state matches to open the season, XULA will play five times next week in New Orleans. The Gold Nuggets will play Tuesday at 5 p.m. against St. Thomas (Texas) and 7 p.m. against city rival Loyola at the Wolf Pack's home court. Then XULA will play host to four opponents in theBig Easy Blastoff at the Convocation Center, meeting Pikeville at 11 a.m. and William Carey at 5 p.m. Friday and Southwest (N.M.) at 11 a.m. Saturday.
    
Mallory Dillon, first-team All-America a year ago, had 19 kills and hit .341, and Natalie Gremaud had 27 digs for Missouri Baptist (6-2). Sarah Pitts-Groce and Drake had seven kills apiece for XULA. The Gold Nuggets' highlight was nine consecutive points during a 14-4 run to open the second set. Drake and Hasani Salaam had two kills apiece during the surge.
     
Cassie Sarabia had 18 kills, 20 digs and four blocks to lead Indiana Tech (2-2). For XULA, Tomasoni had 12 kills and 24 digs — her fourth double-double of the season — Fontaine had nine kills, Jones had a season-high 17 digs, Kaelan Temple had 10 digs and two aces, and Perry — reaching double figures for the seventh consecutive match — had 21 digs.
     
Tiffany Phillips, who entered the day with six consecutive assist/dig double-doubles to start her collegiate career, did not extend her streak. The XULA freshman setter had 24 assists and seven digs against Missouri Baptist and 24 assists and five digs against Indiana Tech.
     
XULA's 84 digs against Indiana Tech were its second-most in a match this season. The Gold Nuggets began the day ranked 24th in the NAIA with 17.59 digs per set.
     
XULA's 21 points per set against Missouri Baptist matched its most ever against a ranked opponent.

Ed Cassiere, Sports Information Director
XULAgold.com
XAVIER UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA 
twitter.com/xulagold
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Former N.C. A&T Baseball Players Strive Professionally

GREENSBORO, North Carolina – There is some good news out about two North Carolina A&T baseball alumni. Luke Tendler (N.C. A&T ‘14) is having a great season for the High Desert Mavericks, an Advance Single A affiliate of the Texas Rangers, the team that drafted Tendler in the 2014 MLB Draft.

Another former Aggies slugger, C.J. Beatty, is also doing well in his professional baseball career. Beatty has been hired as a scout and hitting coach for the St. Louis Cardinals organization, the same organization that drafted Beatty in 2009.



Tendler’s power numbers led the Mavericks to the first-half (of the season) championship in the California League South standings, and they are in competition for the best overall record in the California League with the season coming to an end on Sept. 5. Tendler leads the league in RBI (90), he is tied for third in home runs (22) and he is fourth in the league in doubles (35). Tendler is also second in total bases (245) and only two other players have walked more than Tendler.

High Desert is three games back in the second-half standings. As first-half champions they will play in the best-of-5 divisional finals in the playoffs. Tendler has played in 314 minor league games in his career and is a career .283 hitter with 48 home runs, 220 RBI, 83 doubles and a .492 slugging percentage. He has also played for the Spokane Indians (Short Season-A) and the Hickory Crawdads (Full Season-A).

Before becoming the 876th overall selection in the 29th round of the 2014 MLB amateur draft, Tendler was a superstar power man for the Aggies.



Tendler led the Aggies in batting in three out of the seasons he played (2011-14), while starting 199 out of the 200 games he played at A&T. His career highlights include being named a Louisville Slugger Freshman All-American, a Louisville Slugger third-team All-American as a junior and he was named MEAC Preseason Player of the Year in 2013.

He was a career .349 hitter with 24 home runs and 179 RBI. He also finished with 66 doubles, 15 triples and a .561 slugging percentage. As a junior, he was fourth in the nation in doubles per game.

Beatty will be the hitting instructor for the State College Spikes, a Short Season-A team in Pennsylvania. Beatty has had a productive minor league career and has worked as a motivational speaker since leaving N.C. A&T in 2009.



In 2009, he was 789th overall pick in the 26th round by the Cardinals. He played three seasons (2009-11) in their organization before playing four seasons for various independent baseball teams (2011-14). There was also a two-year stint in Australia for the Brisbane Bandits in winter baseball. Beatty spent the final two years of his career in the Chicago White Sox organization (2014-15).

Beatty is one of the highest-ranked recruits to ever sign with N.C. A&T out of high school. Beatty spent three seasons at N.C. A&T where he was a career .339 hitter with 31 home runs, 47 doubles and 135 RBI. He also had a .590 slugging percentage. Tendler and Beatty are two of the 18 Aggies ever selected in the MLB draft.

NORTH CAROLINA A&T STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION 

A team-by-team look at Rutgers' 2016 sked: Howard Bison

HOWARD UNIVERSITY

When/Where: Sept. 10, noon, High Point Solutions Stadium, Piscataway

2015 record: 1-10, 1-7

Returning starters: 16

Coach: Gary Harrell

Offense: Multiple

Defense: 4-3

Series record: Rutgers, 4-0

Last meeting: 2014, Rutgers, 38-25

On the web: www.hubison.com

Twitter line: Howard lost by a cumulative score of 125-0 in its two games against FBS teams in 2015, and was picked next-to-last in the MEAC preseason poll.



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NCCU Eagles eye third straight MEAC title as 15 starters return

DURHAM, North Carolina -- After closing the 2015 season with seven straight wins to earn a share of the MEAC championship for the second consecutive year, N.C. Central has its eyes on making history in 2016.

The Eagles have never won three straight conference titles — not since their football program began in 1923, and certainly not since moving from Division II to the FCS in 2011. The Eagles have also never beaten an FBS opponent, a streak that they’ll have two opportunities to break this season.



“That ball is very funny, and it bounces a lot of different ways, so as long as we try to continue to improve and control the things we can control ... hopefully it goes in our favor in trying to make history,” said head coach Jerry Mack, who returns 15 starters from last season’s 8-3 squad.

Here are four things to know about N.C. Central this season:

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