ST. GEORGE, Utah – Academy of Art University volleyball completed its three-part roadtrip inside Dixie State's Student Activities Center on Saturday afternoon. Facing a 2-0 deficit, ART U played an inspired third set, but ended up falling to DSU 3-1 (25-18, 25-11, 23-25, 25-22) in Pacific West Conference play.

"Throughout this trip, we were competitive for the most part," said head coach Ray Batalon. "Our difficulty closing out sets boils down to confidence, experience, and executing the most fundamental skills in volleyball: serving and passing. We've proven to ourselves this weekend that we have the ability to play great volleyball against some good teams. The biggest difference is our ability to serve and pass."

The opening set shifted toward Dixie State after a 9-3 run to a 14-7 lead. Four unanswered points later pushed the Red Storm further ahead and a pair of 3-0 rallies by the Knights could not bring them closer than 25-18 in the end. Out of the gate, DSU went up 11-1 in the second set and never looked back, winning 25-11 for a two-set advantage.

Even through the first half of the third set, Dixie State went up 15-11, but kills by junior outside hitter Melissa Brum and freshman outside hitter Stine Raben answered back with a 3-0 run. Late in the frame with ART U facing a 22-20, the Urban Knights executed a 5-1 rally on a mixture of kills by Brum, senior setter Rachael Smith, and sophomore middle blocker Margaret Winkler. The push gave Academy of Art the 25-23 set victory.

In the fourth set, Academy of Art cut into a 9-4 DSU lead with tough serving by Brum and later kills by Winkler and freshman middle blocker Safua Elisaia to get back to even. The same sequence played out shortly thereafter when a 21-17 Red Storm margin was cut down by a 4-0 ART U surge. From 22-22, DSU managed three consecutive kills for the 25-22 set and the match.

"Dixie came out with a lot of energy and played a near perfect second set," said Batalon. "In the third set, we got back on track and started to execute our game plan that included our defensive assignments and establishing our quick attack. Margaret, Rachael and Safua did a great job establishing that."

ART U moves to 6-12 overall and 2-8 in PacWest play. Brum finished with a team-high 14 kills, Raben added 11 kills and nine digs, and Smith posted 37 assists with nine digs. Junior libero Kabrina Speakman and freshman defensive specialist Alana Lucas combined for 22 digs.

Dixie State breaks its even record to go up 9-8 overall and 6-3 in conference. Makenzi Bird-Murphey (14 kills) was one of four Red Storm players to register double-digit kills while Kailey Frei had 53 assists and Alex Anderson turned in 23 digs.

With their roadtrip complete, the Knights now return to finish the season in the Bay Area. Academy of Art starts a stretch of seven of nine inside Kezar Pavilion with Point Loma and Concordia Irvine in town on back-to-back nights Oct. 23-24.

"We're really looking forward to being at home and in familiar territory," said Batalon. "Hopefully our familiarity with Kezar will help us turn the tide in our favor and close out these tight sets and give us momentum going into the final stretch of the season."