The volleyball team won both matches against Xavier University of Louisiana (XULA) on Nov. 1 and 2 to be crowned Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) regular season champions. The Saints enter the conference postseason tournament with an 18-11 overall record and 15-1 conference mark. The Saints earned the No. 1 seed for the postseason tournament with the wins over the Gold Nuggets.

History
The Saints were 5-3 against the Gold Nuggets prior to the matches.

First match (Nov. 1)
Basics
The Saints swept the Gold Nuggets in a thrilling match on Wednesday night. OLLU held Xavier to under .100 hitting percentage in both the second and third sets. Both programs hit over .300 in the first set with the Saints escaping with a 27-25 win. The same score held for the second and third frame as the Saints forced a decisive game two on Thursday night to determine the winner of the RRAC regular season. Mia Francis and Camila Ramirez had double-digit kills while Lauren Reynard assisted on 37 plays. Reynard broke the Saints single season record for assists on Wednesday night.

Scoring overview
Set One – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set Two – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set Three – OLLU 27 – XULA 25

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded 20 kills and five errors on 38 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .395.

The Saints had 14 kills in the second set and 10 errors on 32 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .125.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 14 kills and nine errors on 45 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .111.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 48 kills for a hitting percentage of .209. Xavier totaled 33 kills for a hitting percentage of .168.

Francis led the Saints with 15 kills. Reynard assisted on 37 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 47 digs, led by Tina Trevino with 18. Madalyn Gonzalez totaled five blocks.

Serving it up
Trevino and Julissa Casas had two service aces each.

Second match (Nov. 2)
Basics
The Saints claimed the RRAC regular season title on Nov. 2 after beating the Gold Nuggets in four sets. Xavier took the first set after the Saints had a -.021 hitting percentage. The Saints turned the tide in the second frame by totaling eight kills and no errors for a .571 hitting percentage. OLLU held Xavier to five points to even the match. The Saints led 21-19 in the third set and broke away for a 25-21 set win, with Ramirez having the final kill to put the Saints up 2-1. The Saints played a sound fourth set and Francis ended the match with a kill with an assist from Reynard. Gonzalez set the Saints single season blocking solo record on Thursday night.

Scoring overview  
Set One – XULA 25 – OLLU 21

Set Two – OLLU 25 – XULA 5

Set Three – OLLU 25 – XULA 21

Set Four – OLLU 25 – XULA 16

Set review
In the first set, OLLU recorded nine kills and 10 errors on 48 total attacks for a hitting percentage of -.021.

The Saints had eight kills in the second set and no errors on 14 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .571.

In the third set, OLLU recorded 10 kills and six errors on 34 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .118.

The Saints had 10 kills in the fourth set and five errors on 28 total attacks for a hitting percentage of .179.

On the offense
Overall, the Saints had 37 kills for a hitting percentage of .129. Xavier totaled 37 kills for a hitting percentage of .039.

Francis and Mia Dorsey led the Saints with 11 kills apiece. Reynard assisted on 32 plays for OLLU.

Defensive standouts
OLLU had a total of 53 digs, led by Trevino with 16. Gonzalez totaled five solo blocks and four block assists.

Serving it up
Four different Saints had two service aces each.

Up next
The Saints start play in the RRAC Tournament on Friday in New Orleans.