SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – In an inaugural meeting of Pacific West Conference rivals, Dominican ended up prevailing over Academy of Art 3-1 (27-25, 22-25, 25-16, 25-19) on Tuesday night inside the Conlan Center. The Urban Knights bounced back from a close first set and evened the match 1-1, but a tough Penguins block played a big part in the home team's rallies down the stretch.

An early Dominican lead was erased midway through the first set when three kills by junior outside hitter Melissa Brum sparked a 6-0 run to give ART U an 18-17 advantage. The teams remained close from that point forward and, though the Penguins had two set points at 24-23 and 25-24, Academy of Art denied them on each account. In the end, however, Dominican had the final say with a 27-25 victory.

Eager to provide a rebuttal, the Knights grabbed the reins of set two quickly and went up 11-3 after a 7-0 surge. Freshman outside hitter Stine Raben had two kills and sophomore middle blocker Amorelle Applin added one of her own during the push. Steady production kept ART U ahead and, while the Penguins came within three points late, a big block by Brum and freshman middle blocker Safua Elisaia ended the second set with authority and Academy of Art on top 25-22.

In the third set, a three-point margin became eight when Dominican executed a 6-1 run that included multiple block assists. Staunch defense reared its head once again late as the Penguins stayed ahead and finished the 25-16 win on back-to-back block assists. An even fourth set shifted its momentum on a steady set of five instances of consecutive points scored by Dominican late. The ending outcome was a 25-19 final favoring the Penguins and the 3-1 match result.

Academy of Art is now 6-9 overall and 2-5 in PacWest play. Brum turned in a season-high 21 kills on 51 attempts with 12 digs as well. Raben added 13 kills and Applin shined with a career-high nine putaways in just 22 attempts. Senior setter Rachael Smith's 48 assists tied her season-high set in her first match of the year while the defensive pair of junior libero Kabrina Speakman and freshman Alana Lucas had 14 digs apiece.

In just its second home match of the season and first in conference, Dominican improves to 5-7 overall and 2-4 in the PacWest. Aimee Steinwand's 19 kills and 17 digs led the way, but it was 10 kills and nine block assists from Brittany Latigue that made a huge difference.

ART U remains on the road for its next three matches which all come next week as Point Loma (Oct. 14), Concordia (Oct. 15), and Dixie State (Oct. 17) are upcoming.