Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams & Will Mackie)

San Francisco, CA -- Sometimes a win is characterized by one player dominating the game for three sets, racking up kill after kill or making a slew of defensive digs. But sometimes, like Saturday night, the Academy of Art Urban Knights put in a complete team effort to get their fourth win of the season over the visiting Lady Penguins of Dominican (0-7).

"I'm so proud of this team, I'm actually without words, which is not a normal thing for me," said Coach Allison Magner. "Incredible volleyball, incredible consistency, we played as a team. We played as one family, both everyone on the court and off." 

The consistency from Academy of Art (4-6) was so apparent that it was almost impossible to single out one player for their efforts. Middle blocker Amy Bush had nine kills and a .450 hitting percentage. Camille Board had eight kills and a .500 hitting percentage. Angela Heath was on a similar plane with 10 kills and a .412 hitting percentage. Leinani Keanini had eight kills and .438 hitting percentage. 

To put that in a more visually friendly context., the Urban Knights leaders in kills had 10, nine, eight, and eight. The leaders in hitting percentage were listed at .500, .450, .438, and .412. Libero Nicolette Hagan lead the team in digs with 11, but again, she was closely followed by three teammates. 

The Urban Knights didn't have the same slow start that they did against William Jessup on Thursday, jumping out to a 10-3 lead in the first match after Board put up a huge block on a Dominican attack and followed it up with a kill of her own. Mykal "Myke" Vailu'u backed up her second kill of the set with a service ace to put the Knights up 23-12 before a Keanini kill put the Penguins down for good in the first game 25-13.

After missing the William Jessup match due to injury, Vailu'u returned to the lineup with seven kills, four service aces, and eight digs. Her consistent play merited high praises by Coach Magner, who highlighted Vailu'u as being a vital part of the Urban Knights moving forward in 2011.

"Mykal truly is the glue to this team as a whole," said the head coach. "She is an impeccable leader, which comes very naturally to her, and it was incredibly important to have her back."

Yet again, it was not as much Vailu'u's singular effort that led the Urban Knights to their second sweep in three days, but how it integrated into the entire team effort that stood out. The scores, and the play by ART U, improved with every set, as they downed the Lady Penguins 25-13, 25-16, and 25-8. And the play of the entire team earned some complimentary remarks from their coach.

"It did get better and better," said Magner. "They're earning these wins. I've been with this program since the beginning, and tonight was literally the best volleyball I've seen played on this floor. We've had any glorious moments as a program, but as a whole entire family, the chemistry felt so different tonight than it ever has been, and that's what we've been working so hard to improve on, so I'm proud.

In the second set, the Knights looked like they needed another pep talk from their coach after falling to a 0-4 deficit. Magner, who called timeout in a similar situation on Thursday against William Jessup, looked poised to use the same tactics again, but her team turned it around on their own, going on a 7-0 run. The Lady Penguins tied it up at 11-11 but the Knights followed up with a 6-0 run before ending the game on yet another 6-0 run to take the second set 25-16. 

ART U was a team on a mission, and their momentum could not be slowed in the third set. Dominican called a timeout after Camille Board put the Knights up 9-2, and then put together another eight-point run to complete the sweep with a 25-8 win. Board finished with seven total blocks, which was best on the team.

"We're nowhere near our high point in my opinion," said Coach Magner. "I told the girls to keep it spicy so we're going to continue to integrate, continue to build a more intricate offense, different game schemes. There's always room to build and hit a higher note." 

With the win over Dominican, Academy of Art opens their PacWest schedule 1-0, and will have the week off before meeting up with the Lady Penguins again in San Rafael next Saturday at 7:00 PM.