SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art University volleyball fought through an evenly-played first set, but could not come any closer thereafter, falling to Concordia Irvine 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-18). Both the Urban Knights and Eagles celebrated Breast Cancer Awareness Month by wearing pink on Saturday.
A closely contest opening set inside Kezar Pavilion seesawed back and forth with Concordia up 5-1 then ART U's comeback put them ahead 8-7 after multiple kills by senior outside hitter
Isabel Emrich. Another putaway by Emrich late tied the set 21-21 and, after gaining a two-point advantage, the Eagles were content to trade points the rest of the way for a 25-23 victory.
A 7-0 CUI run early in the second set created initial separation, but the Knights fought to within three points on multiple occasions after the push. Freshman outside hitter Hanna Kahn spiked one to shorten the margin to 20-16, but Concordia proceeded scored five straight and took the set 25-16.
Academy of Art came out strong in the third set, jumping ahead 7-2 on repeated kills by junior outside hitter Melissa Brum. A timeout righted the ship for the Eagles, however, and they were quickly back in the match. From 13-13, they scored four of the next five points and furthered the lead with a 6-1 run late to win the set 25-18 and take the match.
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Saturday's result puts ART U's overall record at 6-14 (2-10 PacWest). Brum finished with a team-high 11 kills, senior setter
Rachael Smith added 28 assists, and freshman
Alana Lucas and junior
Kabrina Speakman each had 11 digs apiece.
Concordia improves to 13-10 overall and 9-5 in PacWest play with the victory. Rachel Flynn delivered a match-high 19 kills while Logan Grove amassed 33 assists.
Academy of Art remains at home for its next match, an Oct. 29 pairing with Fresno Pacific, before a road contest at Holy Names on Oct. 31.
