XULA sweeps weekly RRAC volleyball honors

NEW ORLEANS — Xavier University of Louisiana volleyball has done it again.

The Gold Nuggets, who swept player-of-the-week awards 20 times in six seasons (2015-20) in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference, did it Monday for the first time in their new home, the Red River Athletic Conference. XULA’s recipients for Sept. 6-12 are Stella Dineva (attacker), Semira Blair (setter) and Linda Mungai (defender).

Dineva, a freshman outside hitter/right side from Plovdiv, Bulgaria, led XULA with 22 kills and a .313 hitting percentage in three matches against ranked NAIA opponents in the Spartan Invitational at St. Louis. She also had two blocks. On the first day of the tournament against No. 11 Central Methodist and No. 1 Missouri Baptist, Dineva hit .400 with 18 kills.

Blair, a junior from Fort Worth, Texas, and a former Paschal High School standout, led XULA with 47 assists and was third with 26 digs. Blair had 12 assists and 11 digs against Missouri Baptist — her first double-double of the season and the 10th of her college career. Blair splits setting duties with Emi Riglioni.

Mungai, a sophomore from Busto Arsizio, Italy, led XULA with 43 digs. When she opened the tournament with 20 digs against Central Methodist, Mungai became the only XULA player in the last 13 seasons to reach 20-or-more digs in each of the first two games of a season.

Blair’s weekly award is her first this season and her third at XULA. For Dineva and Mungai, the awards are the first of their XULA careers.

XULA will play its first RRAC match at 1 p.m. Saturday against Louisiana College in Pineville. XULA joined the RRAC July 1.