Box Score

Honolulu, HI – In their longest match of the season, Academy of Art University Volleyball came through with big plays late to triumph 3-2 (31-29, 25-18, 26-28, 27-29, 15-7) over Chaminade in the Urban Knights' start of a three-match Hawaii roadtrip inside McCabe Gymnasium on Thursday night. A variety of big contributions came up and down the roster including three double-doubles in the form of 21 kills and 12 digs for sophomore Melissa Brum, 17 kills and 26 digs for sophomore Emily Papale, and 50 assists with 12 digs from junior Rachael Smith as well as 34 digs by senior Kanoe Irvine.

Academy of Art was off to a solid beginning in the opening set, going up 5-2 with Brum registering three kills. However, the Silverswords rallied back on their homecourt with a 13-3 push to take a six-point lead. Out of their second timeout, the Urban Knights proceeded to score on eight of the next nine points with Smith delivering two service aces and it was soon tied 19-19. The teams would find themselves tied eight more times with two set points countered by ART U before a 31-29 set victory.

Both sides jockeyed for position in the second set until a 5-0 surge by the Knights was spurred with two kills from junior Isabel Emrich. Chaminade came back to within one point at 13-12, but from there Academy of Art was firmly in command. ART U rattled off five unanswered points and held that margin the rest of the way to a 25-18 win to go up 2-0.

The Silverswords forced a 6-0 advantage to begin the third set, but the Urban Knights showed their resiliency and Brum had four kills during an 8-2 run to reach an 8-8 tie. Chaminade threatened with another margin, 22-16, but a kill by freshman Margaret Winkler initiated a four-point rally to bring the visitors back. ART U proceeded to fight off three set points and tie it 24-24 and even had a match point at 26-25, but the Silverswords managed to score three consecutive times for the 28-26 set comeback.

An early 11-4 fourth set lead for Academy of Art was highlighted by a pair of kills from Emrich. However, Chaminade steadily worked its way back to a 15-15 score and not more than a point separated the squads until two attack errors, one on Smith's solo block, gave the Knights a 21-19 advantage.  A big kill by senior Brittany Ulmer furthered the lead then she teamed with Papale for a block, but the Silverswords rallied back to a 23-23 tie. Four ties and five set points later, it was Chaminade who forced the fifth set with a 29-27 final in the fourth.

ART U dominated the fifth set with an early kill by Brum combined with Ulmer's service ace. Emrich posted back-to-back kills then Brum added an ace of her own before Winkler to get her squad up 10-5. Down the stretch, Academy of Art relied on kills by Emrich, Ulmer, and Papale to get to match point at 14-7. In the end, Ulmer did the honors with her eighth kill to win it 15-7 and finish the match.

The Urban Knights are now 11-11 and 6-8 in PacWest play. On the offensive side, Brum produced a match-high 21 kills to go with 12 digs for her 16th double-double this season. Palpale added 17 kills and 26 digs (second-most in her career after the 29 she had against UH Hilo). Defensively, Irvine finished with 36 digs to set the program's single-game record for a five-set match and tie her own single-game record (any match). She added two service aces to bring her now two away from setting the single-season record. Smith finished with 50 assists to go with 12 digs for her second double-double of the year.

ART U's three matches in three days continue tomorrow, Oct. 31, evening with a 7:00 PM HST (10:00 PM PST) first serve against Hawaii Pacific inside Saint Andrew's Priory.