It was a year of "firsts" for Academy of Art University Volleyball in 2014. The Urban Knights earned their first victories over six opponents, broke several records, and saw the program's inaugural All-American Honorable Mention named all in head coach Ed Jackson's best year to date at ART U.

"This season showed consistent improvement with our program," said Jackson. "We still have many more achievements in store for this team, but based on this seasons challenges we did a great job progressing the program."

The year began in dramatic fashion as Academy of Art pushed the eventual 17-9 Humboldt State Jacks to a fifth set to start the Cal State East Bay/Notre Dame de Namur Route 92 Showdown in Hayward. Though HSU prevailed on this occasion, it did not faze the Knights who proceeded to sweep their next three opponents, CSUEB, NDNU, and Carson Newman, opening the year 3-1. Outside hitter Melissa Brum earned Pacific West Conference Player of the Week after averaging 5.6 points per set to start her sophomore season.

ART U was back in the East Bay the following weekend for the PacWest/GNAC Crossover hosted by Dominican. Like the previous tournament, the Knights began with a five-set battle against Seattle Pacific that the Falcons ultimately won, but bounced back by defeating Western Oregon and Montana State-Billings with just one of seven sets allowed to their opponents. In the weekend finale, Simon Fraser came out 3-0 winners over Academy of Art.

The Urban Knights shook off one of their few 2014 sweeps by shutting down Dominican in three straight behind 11 kills apiece from Brum and junior Isabel Emrich in the squad's home opener. That began a stretch of seven consecutive home games featuring some of the top teams in the PacWest such as NCAA Tournament qualifiers Dixie State and BYU-Hawaii.

After falling 3-1 to both Azusa Pacific and Dixie State, Academy of Art triumphed over California Baptist 3-2, marking the program's first-ever victory over the Lancers. The stunner was a complete team effort was led by Brum's 22 kills and a career-high 16 kills for senior Brittany Ulmer. Additionally, middle blocker Margaret Winkler earned PacWest Freshman of the Week honors.

ART U then made it back-to-back victories by setting the program digs record (123) and topping UH Hilo 3-1. Brum erupted for a career-high 31 kills and 20 digs while 20+ digs came from senior libero Kanoe Irvine (32), sophomore outside hitter Emily Papale (29), Emrich (21), and junior setter Rachael Smith (20).

The conclusion of the homestand did not go the way the Knights wanted, but they remained very competitive and hit two milestones against Hawaii Pacific and then-ranked #4 BYU-Hawaii. In the matchup with the Sharks, Irvine became the program's career digs leader and, four nights later, Smith achieved the most career assists versus the Seasiders.

Following a tough trip to Southern California (losses to California Baptist and Point Loma) and a defeat hosting Fresno Pacific, ART U broke the streak with a 3-0 victory on the road at Holy Names thanks to strong efforts from its sophomore tandem of Brum and Papale. Despite a road loss to Dixie State, Academy of Art made it three wins in four games by sweeping NDNU and starting its Hawaii roadtrip with a 3-2 victory over Chaminade.

The Knights pushed Hawaii Pacific to the brink in a 3-2 defeat on Halloween night then had solid performances from their youth including sophomore Kabrina Speakman and freshman Bailey Soolsma in a rematch with nationally-ranked BYU-Hawaii.

In an emotional return for Ulmer and Irvine with "Senior Knight" on Nov. 6, Academy of Art swept through Holy Names once again, sending its seniors off on a high note. Over the final week of the season, Fresno Pacific topped ART U, the Knights were outlasted by Dominican on the Penguins' "Senior Night," and the season finale, a 3-1 win at NDNU, was one of record-breaking proportions with Irvine setting the program's new single-match digs record (38) and earning PacWest Defender of the Week to finish her career.

"Through the adversity of multiple painful injuries this year, I was proud of our team and how they did not make excuses and grinded out the season," said Jackson. "They were great at being adaptable to the challenges placed in front them and found ways to still be successful. I think many teams in our situation would have struggled."

The "firsts" for ART U didn't stop with the end of the season, however. After Brum was named All-PacWest Second Team and Smith All-PacWest Team Honorable Mention, Brum would go on to earn several other honors never before awarded to an Urban Knight. Ranked fifth in the country in kills per set (4.47) and ninth in points per set (4.82), Brum captured Daktronics West Region All-Star honors, was AVCA All-Region Team Honorable Mention, and capped the historic run with AVCA All-America Team Honorable Mention.

"Melissa's acknowledgement will be particularly memorable for me since she is the first athlete selected during my tenure as a head coach and in this program's history," said Jackson. "As a team, I'm proud of the fact that we qualified for next year's PacWest/GNAC crossover and will be the lone representative from the Bay Area."

ART U finished the year 13-15 overall and 8-12 in PacWest play, showing its ability to contend with anyone. Academy of Art now looks ahead to next year for its full spring season beginning in January.

"It will be nice to have a large group training this spring," said Jackson. "It will allow us to play a complete six-on-six which can be difficult in the offseason. Our plan is to continue moving forward and improving each athlete's skills and abilities. In reflection at the end of the season, the consensus was we improved our team cohesion and communication between the athletes which is a positive sign for our team."

How will ART U build off its best season since 2010? The answer will come this fall.

"The combination of a strong team connection combined with another season of experience will make this team a contender next year," said Jackson. "I'm confident this team has the ability and is committed to be the best in the PacWest and beyond."