2015 Academy of Art Volleyball Schedule

SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art University volleyball fans can circle Sept. 4 as the date ART U makes its long-awaited return to the court this fall with the official 2015 schedule announcement by head coach Ed Jackson. The Urban Knights will look to continue improving the program as they embark upon a 28-game journey together.

The 2015 campaign starts locally once again with the Cal State East Bay/Notre Dame de Namur Route 92 Showdown. This year, Academy of Art will compete solely inside NDNU's Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont where they meet Montana State-Billings and Cal State Stanislaus on Sept. 4 then Cal State Monterey Bay and Chico State on Sept. 5.

ART U defeated MSUB 3-1 last season before the Yellowjackets finished the year 13-14 overall in the middle of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference standings. After going 2-24 overall in 2014, Cal State Stanislaus begins its first year under head coach Mallori Gibson, a former assistant coach at Fresno State. Cal State Monterey Bay went 9-17 overall last year while Chico State oscillated up and down all season and ended up 13-13 with head coach Cody Hein now nearing his 200th win with the program.

"The preseason this year includes a blend of teams we played last season and a few new teams we have yet to compete against since I've been the head coach such as Cal State Stanislaus and Chico State," said Jackson. "We have played both teams multiple times in spring scrimmages so we have some familiarity with their style of play and talent. Mallori and I worked together at Fresno State during my last season prior to joining the Urban Knights program so that match should be fun. Cody and I have mutual respect for one another after our collegiate playing days. Both Cody and Mallori are exceptional coaches and will have their teams prepared when we play in September."

For the second consecutive season, Academy of Art's second preseason tournament will be the PacWest/GNAC Crossover taking place Sept. 10-12 inside Brougham Pavilion on the campus of Seattle Pacific. The tournament leads off with a doubleheader featuring another pairing of ART U and Montana State-Billings then the Knights' first time playing Alaska since 2013. The Nanooks ended up tied for eighth in the GNAC while posting a 3-23 overall record last year. The host Falcons will be in action against Academy of Art on Sept. 11 following their 12-14 finish in 2014. Finally, on Sept. 12, the Knights go up against a Simon Fraser team that won 17 of 28 games the previous season.
 
"The PacWest/GNAC crossover is becoming my favorite tournament," said Jackson. "Seattle Pacific is hosting us and I am excited about the opportunity to have rematches against three of the four teams we played in last year's tournament."

The Urban Knights return to Belmont on Sept. 19 to begin PacWest Conference play against Notre Dame de Namur. ART U looks to continue its success against the Argonauts, having won each of the last four meetings and 11 of 15 overall. In a change from years past, Academy of Art plays the first of three matches in three days on the Hawaiian Islands on Sept. 24.

"This season, one of the biggest changes for us in PacWest play is competing in Hawaii in September," said Jackson. "For the past two seasons, we have traveled there over Halloween and when our mid-term projects are due. I think competing in September will give us an advantage we have not had during our last two trips to the islands."

 The trip begins on the Big Island at UH Hilo (tied ART U's 8-12 PacWest record in 2014) then proceeds to Kaneone for a Sept. 25 contest at Hawaii Pacific (fifth in the PacWest last year with a 15-11 record). The final matchup will be in Laie on Sept. 26 for the year's lone pairing of ART U with PacWest regular season champion and NCAA Tournament qualifier BYU-Hawaii. The Seasiders went 18-2 in conference play, headed into the West Region semifinals as the No. 5 seed, but fell to Dixie State in the end.

The start of October brings Academy of Art University's first home match – an Oct. 1 meeting with Holy Names inside Kezar Pavilion. That is followed by the home rematch with NDNU on Oct. 3 then a trip across the bay to Dominican on Oct. 7. ART U has registered double-digit wins over each of its PacWest Bay Area opponents in 44 historical matchups to date.

The Urban Knights stay on the road and head down to Southern California to face Point Loma on Oct. 14 then future PacWest member Concordia University of Irvine. PLNU finished third in the conference last year with a 16-4 PacWest record while Concordia finished off 2014 with its fourth consecutive Golden State Athletic Conference championship and reached the NAIA National Championship quarterfinals. The final road contest in that stretch will be at Dixie State on Oct. 17. The Red Storm, 22-9 in 2014, went the farthest of any PacWest team in the NCAA postseason last year, reaching the West Region finals before a loss to Sonoma State.

"This will be our first time competing against Dixie State during our Southern California road trip," said Jackson. "I'm excited that we don't have to play three matches in a row during this trip. The travel day to St. George will give our team some rest plus an opportunity to study."

A road-heavy first half of the season will be balanced out by eight of the Knights' final 10 matches at home. The stretch begins with rematches against Point Loma (Oct. 23) and Concordia (Oct. 24) as well as the first matchup with Fresno Pacific (Oct. 29), who finished fourth in the PacWest last year. ART U then heads to Oakland to face Holy Names once again on Oct. 31, but returns for pairings with Chaminade (Nov. 5), Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 7), California Baptist (Nov. 13), and Azusa Pacific (Nov. 14). The last time Academy of Art met California Baptist inside Kezar Pavilion, the Urban Knights triumphed 3-2 in a historic victory.

"The 2015 PacWest Conference is going to be the strongest coalition of colleges and universities we've had," said Jackson. "Every match will provide a great challenge and an opportunity to earn quality wins."

Moving deeper into November than ever before, ART U's 2015 regular season concludes with one last road contest at Fresno Pacific on Nov. 19 and Senior Day at home against Dominican on Nov. 21.