SEATTLE – Up against the host of the PacWest-GNAC Crossover in Seattle Pacific, Academy of Art University volleyball had chances to win their third match in a row, but ended up taking a tough 3-1 loss inside Brougham Pavilion on Friday. Freshman outside hitter Stine Raben posted 14 kills in the defeat.

The opening set was even to 8-8 before a 6-0 Falcons run created the first separation. That push was outdone by the Knights' 7-0 rebuttal which was bookended by kills from sophomore middle blocker Margaret Winkler. After leading 18-15, ART U would not relinquish its advantage, going on to win 25-20.

Coming back strong on their home court, Seattle Pacific controlled set two and gained a 13-5 lead out of the gate. Academy of Art had multiple kills by Raben down the stretch, but could not stop an even match after falling 25-9. The third set was closely contested and a small SPU margin was soon erased by a 4-0 ART U run. From 16-16, the Falcons scored four straight as well and held it to a 25-22 victory.

Up 2-1, Seattle Pacific continued to push the envelope, taking small leads before the Knights rattled off five unanswered points to go up 18-13. Sophomore outside hitter Bailey Soolsma had four kills in that stretch. The surge, however, was answered by five straight from the home team as it became anyone's set. Raben had two kills which each forced tie scores late, but from 23-23, two ART U attack errors ended the frame 25-23 with SPU taking the match.

"We had opportunities late in sets three and four and we didn't take advantage of them," said head coach Ray Batalon. "Especially late in set four, we had leads but couldn't sustain them. We talked about putting a premium on focusing our effort to execute late in matches, especially when we have the lead."

Academy of Art is now 4-3 on this young season after being led offensively by Raben for the seventh consecutive match. She finished with a match-high 14 kills and 13 digs (her second double-double of the year) and was backed up by Winkler's eight kills on a team-high .375 hitting percentage. Five Knights reached double figures in digs including senior setter Rachael Smith Smith (13), junior libero Kabrina Speakman (13), junior outside hitter Melissa Brum (12), and freshman defensive specialist Alana Lucas (11), contributing to a grand total of 69 as a team.

"Defensively the digs were deceiving," said Batalon. "Yes, we did dig a lot of balls but couldn't convert them to points. That's another point of emphasis we made in our post-game wrap up."

ART U concludes not only the PacWest-GNAC Crossover but also its non-conference slate tomorrow with a noon matchup against Simon Fraser.

"Tomorrow our focus will be to play a little more freely," said Batalon. "I felt that they played extremely tight today. We pressed too hard and as a result we misplayed a lot of balls. So tomorrow, we want to come out, play within ourselves, and when the time comes, close out sets strong."