Gold Nuggets play volleyball home opener Sept. 3, host RRAC Tournament in November

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana announced Thursday its 2022 women’s volleyball schedule, which includes 27 regular-season matches and the host role for the Red River Athletic Conference Tournament.

XULA will begin its season with four matches Aug. 26-27 in the Running Eagle Classic at Life University in the Atlanta suburb of Marietta, Ga. The Gold Nuggets will open at 1 p.m. EDT against Columbia International of Columbia, S.C., then play Life — which eliminated XULA in the first round of NAIA nationals last season — at 5 p.m.

The Gold Nuggets’ first home matches will be Sept. 3 in the Big Easy Blastoff at XULA’s Convocation Center: 1 p.m. against Louisiana Christian, 5 p.m. against Mobile. Although XULA and LCU are Red River Conference members, the match will not count in the conference standings.

XULA will play host to the RRAC Tournament Nov. 11-12. The RRAC’s top six teams will qualify.

First-time opponents will be Ave Maria, Columbia International, Ottawa (Kan.), SAGU, Texas A&M-Texarkana, William Penn and William Woods. TAMUT, an RRAC member, is in its first season of volleyball and replaces Wiley, which moved to the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference. SAGU was 23rd and Ottawa 25th in the NAIA preseason coaches poll announced Wednesday.

The RRAC schedule will resemble recent NCAA P5 schedules: two matches against the same opponent at the same venue. XULA will play host to Texas College, TAMUT, Our Lady of the Lake and LCU; the Gold Nuggets will travel to Southwest (N.M.), Huston-Tillotson, Jarvis Christian and Paul Quinn.

Pat Kendrick, a three-time Louisiana Coach of the Year, returns for her sixth season to lead the Gold Nuggets. Kendrick is 112-30 (.789) during her XULA tenure.

Season and individual tickets for home matches are available at xulatix.com. Home matches will be streamed live on YouTube.

Students, faculty and staff with a valid XULA ID are admitted free to home matches.

Each of the last 11 seasons, XULA volleyball won league regular-season and tournament championships and qualified for NAIA nationals. In 2021 XULA was 14-6 overall and 10-1 in its first RRAC season. After the season the NAIA awarded XULA a forfeit victory because Wayland Baptist used an ineligible player in a match the Pioneers won in five sets.

Xavier University of Louisiana 2022 Women’s Volleyball Schedule
Aug. 26 (Fri.): Columbia International, 1 p.m. EDT (Running Eagle Classic, Marietta, Ga.)
Aug. 26 (Fri.): at Life, 5 p.m. EDT (Running Eagle Classic, Marietta, Ga.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.): Ave Maria, 9 a.m. EDT (Running Eagle Classic, Marietta, Ga.)
Aug. 27 (Sat.): Bryan, 11 a.m. EDT (Running Eagle Classic, Marietta, Ga.)
Sept. 3 (Sat.): LOUISIANA CHRISTIAN, 1 p.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 3 (Sat.): MOBILE, 5 p.m. (Big Easy Blastoff)
Sept. 9 (Fri.) • at Southwest (N.M.), 6 p.m. MDT
Sept. 10 (Sat.) • at Southwest (N.M.), 11 a.m. MDT
Sept. 17 (Sat.): • TEXAS COLLEGE, 1 p.m.
Sept. 17 (Sat.): • TEXAS COLLEGE, 5 p.m.
Sept. 23 (Fri.) • at Huston-Tillotson, 6 p.m.
Sept. 24 (Sat.) • at Huston-Tillotson, noon
Sept. 27 (Tue.): at Loyola (N.O.), 6 p.m.
Sept. 30 (Fri.) • at Jarvis Christian, 6 p.m.
Oct. 1 (Sat.) • at Jarvis Christian, 11 a.m.
Oct. 7 (Fri.): • TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA, 6 p.m.
Oct. 8 (Sat.): • TEXAS A&M-TEXARKANA, noon
Oct 14 (Fri.): Ottawa (Kan.), 4 p.m. (Grand View Tournament, Des Moines, Iowa)
Oct 15 (Sat.): William Penn, noon (Grand View Tournament, Des Moines, Iowa)
Oct 15 (Sat.): William Woods, 3 p.m. (Grand View Tournament, Des Moines, Iowa)
Oct. 21 (Fri.): • OUR LADY OF THE LAKE, 7 p.m. (Dig Pink Match)
Oct. 22 (Sat.): • OUR LADY OF THE LAKE, noon (Dig Pink Match)
Oct. 28 (Fri.) • at Paul Quinn, 6 p.m.
Oct. 29 (Sat.) • at Paul Quinn, 10 a.m.
Oct. 29 (Sat.): at SAGU, 3 p.m.
Nov. 4 (Fri.): • LOUISIANA CHRISTIAN, 4 p.m.
Nov. 4 (Fri.): • LOUISIANA CHRISTIAN, 6 p.m.
Nov. 11-12 (Fri.-Sat.): RED RIVER ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TOURNAMENT, TBA
Nov. 19 (Sat.): NAIA National Championship tournament opening round at campus sites, TBA
Nov. 30-Dec. 6 (Wed.-Tue.): NAIA National Championship tournament final site at Sioux City, Iowa, TBA

Home matches in BOLD CAPITAL LETTERS
• Red River Athletic Conference match
All times are Central except where noted
Schedule is subject to change