SEATTLE – Facing Simon Fraser, its fourth opponent in three days of the PacWest-GNAC Crossover, Academy of Art University volleyball struggled to develop an offensive rhythm and ended up dropping a 3-0 match to The Clan.

"We certainly didn't give ourselves much of a chance to really utilize all our attackers," said head coach Ray Batalon. "Simon Fraser served us tough and we didn't respond well to it. It limited our options as well and we weren't able to generate much offense off of our initial pass. Also with the limited number of opportunities we had to score we couldn't convert. We made some errors and it was tough for us to gather any momentum."

The first set went back-and-forth until SFU made a run to break a 9-9 tie. A total of 10 of the next 11 points went the way of the only NCAA school from Canada and, though ART U fought off three set points, the end result was a 25-17 victory. After freshman outside hitter Stine Raben made it 7-7 in the second set, Simon Fraser pushed an 8-1 run to establish separation. The Knights came as close as 21-17, but The Clan went on to win 25-20.

Kills by Raben and freshman middle blocker Safua Elisaia helped Academy of Art gain a 10-6 lead in the third frame. SFU rallied back and the set hung in the balance with the teams tied a 14-14. Following a 5-1 run by Simon Fraser, ART U created an opportunity when junior outside hitter Melissa Brum's kill made it 23-19, however, the match went the way of The Clan with a 25-19 victory to complete the sweep.

In the end of non-conference play, Academy of Art sports a 4-4 record and was led by Brum's 12 kills along with seven digs. Raben and redshirt freshman middle blocker Saufa Elisaia each had six kills apiece, but all of the Knights' attackers struggled in terms of hitting percentage. Senior setter Rachael Smith added 24 assists and junior libero Kabrina Speakman finished with nine digs.

Simon Fraser rises to 4-3 with the victory and was led by 12 kills apiece from Emma Jennings and Devon May.

ART U next enters Pacific West Conference play with a road match at Notre Dame de Namur on Sept. 19 at 7 p.m. before heading to Hawaii for matches on Sept. 24, 25, and 26.

"As we move into conference play, we really need to concentrate our efforts into more consistency with our serving and passing," said Batalon.