NEW ORLEANS, La. - The Faulkner volleyball team looked to close out it's weekend on the road with a convincing win over Xavier University here this afternoon. The Gold Nuggets are coming off a strong 2014 season that carried them into the opening round of the NAIA national tournament. The visitors dropped set one in extended points, but rebound with three consecutive wins to secure the victory 24-26, 25-22, 25-22, 25-10.

"Today was important for us," said head coach Tori Bartels after the match. "Xavier is an accomplished program and this team was polished and presented a much-needed challenge for us. We probably should have won it in straight sets, but the loss forced our girls to press hard and overcome a big obstacle early and that's something our program has struggled with on several occasions in the past. I'm very happy for the girls. It was a big win for them and they deserve it."

The Lady Eagles had four hitters in or near double-digit scoring in the bout.

Right side hitter Sarah Ford, who is splitting time between setting and hitting, led the front row in scoring this afternoon with 11 kills while hitting and impressive .375.

Outside hitter Sarah Dubberley and middle blocker Brittnay Renfroe weren't far off her mark however, and produced 10 kills each. Dubberley added 12 digs while Renfroe posted a pair of blocks.

Fellow middle Alysa Klassen had nine kills hitting .250 in the event and had three digs and two blocks.

Libero Lindsey Ortner led the defense with 14 digs and outside Cassie Bailie had 12.

Faulkner (2-0) will use the coming week to fine-tune its system before heading to Brunswick, Ga., to enter the College of Coastal Georgia tournament next weekend. The two-day event will provide four matches for the Lady Eagles. They kick things off against Webber International on Friday at 8 a.m.