2014 All-PacWest Volleyball Team

IRVINE, Calif. – Capping the best season ART U Volleyball has seen since 2010, a pair of Urban Knights earned All-Pacific West Conference Team honors in a Wednesday announcement. Sophomore Melissa Brum, one of the country's top 10 outside hitters all year, was named to the All-PacWest Second Team while junior Rachael Smith, the team's career assists leader this season, received All-PacWest Team Honorable Mention.

"I'm very proud of our team's growth this year," head coach Ed Jackson said. "Everyone made contributions throughout the season. Melissa and Rachael were two players we could count on night after night. These post season awards are icing on the cake for our program."

This year, the PacWest's head coaches selected First, Second, Third Teams, as well as honorable mention, and a Player, Setter, Libero, Freshman, Newcomer, and Coach of the Year.

Brum's sophomore season was highlighted by averages significant at the national level. By the year's end, she was fifth in the country in kills per set (4.47) and ninth in the entire NCAA Division II in points per set (4.82). She had 20 double-doubles which were the second-most in program history and became the first Urban Knight to crack the Top 3 in total kills which had previously exclusively belonged to Dan Yang, taking over second with 451 terminations on the year.

In the conference, Brum ranked #1 in total kills and second only to PacWest Player of the Year Shih Ting Chen (BYU-Hawaii) in both kills per set and points per set. Brum's season-high of 23 kills (one off her career-high) came in the season finale when ART U triumphed over Notre Dame de Namur 3-1 on Nov. 15. She contributed a career-high 22 digs on a night where Academy of Art produced its second-most digs in program history.

"Melissa has had arguably one of the best seasons any volleyball player has ever had here at ART U," Coach Jackson said. "I'm really proud of her commitment to this team and the hard work she put in preparing for the season. She is a testament to the quote, 'Luck is when preparation meets opportunity.' She has proven to be our leading attacker. Since she's only sophomore, Mel has a brighter future as she continues to develop."

Smith this season reached #1 on the Urban Knights' all-time list for career assists in a memorable moment against nationally ranked BYU-Hawaii on Oct. 7. Now up to 3,154 assists in just three seasons with ART U, Smith averaged 10.60 assists per set while playing in all 28 matches. She contributed seven double-doubles including four in her last seven contests.

Among the leading setters in the PacWest, Smith finished the regular season ranked third in assists per set and she appeared on a national scale as well, ranking Top 35 in the country in that category. She was one of just two players in the PacWest to log more than 1,100 assists on the year with the other the Setter of the Year Savannah Wedemeyer of Point Loma.

"Rachael has overcome a great deal this season, battling through pain and not giving up," Coach Jackson said. "She's a champion and has shown why she's our floor captain during matches."