NEW ORLEANS, La. ---- The No. 10 nationally ranked Life University women's volleyball team swept Xavier University 3-0 in the NAIA Opening Round matchup Saturday afternoon. The Running Eagles now advance to the NAIA Women's Volleyball National Championships in Sioux City, Iowa beginning on Nov. 30.

In a season that has rewritten the record books for the women's volleyball program, the Running Eagles are headed to the NAIA final site for the first time in program history. Life U (33-2) defeated XULA (13-7) 3-0 on the road in the NAIA Opening Round to secure the bid. Life U won the match 28-26, 25-16 and 25-22.

Xavier finished the match with 38 kills and a .151 hitting percentage with 19 attack errors. Life U finished the match with 45 kills and a .226 hitting percentage with 14 attack errors. The Gold Nuggets led the Running Eagles in aces 4-3 and digs 67-64. Life U led 6-4 in blocks and 41-39 in assists.

Individually, Fayola Louis paced the offense with 13 kills and zero attack errors for a .419 hitting percentage with three block assists and three digs. Lena Pucnik picked up the double-double on 10 kills and 13 digs as Mary Zimmerman totaled 11 kills with zero attack errors, three block assists and a hitting percentage of .550. Jessie Prichard finished the match with a double-double on 34 assists and 12 digs with three block assists. Marin Black added a service ace and 16 digs as Kennedy Neal totaled 12 digs. 

The women's volleyball team will find out the pool matchups for the NAIA Championships on Sunday at 6 PM EST. The tournament starts on November 30 and lasts until December 4. 

Head coach Steve Wilcosky shared his thoughts after the match: