SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Academy of Art University played inspired volleyball in its first Pacific West Conference match of 2016, coming from behind to win the first set, but as Dominican gained momentum on its home floor, the Penguins ended up prevailing 3-1 (23-25, 25-10, 25-14, 25-16). Senior outside hitter Melissa Brum's match-high 16 kills led the way.

An evenly played first set saw no more than three points separate the teams throughout. From down 23-20, ART U came back to tie 23-23 with kills by Melissa Brum and senior outside hitter Kabrina Speakman sandwiching a Brum service ace. Freshman setter Lilika Teu added a kill of her own out of Dominican's timeout and another ace by Brum finished off the 5-0 run for a 25-23 victory.

"Late in the first set, it was a combination of tough serving on Mel's part and a couple of key kills from Mel, Kabrina, and a crafty play from Lilika that propelled us in that first set and it ended on a service ace by Mel," said head coach Ray Batalon. "I think the big key for us was that we were aggressive on our serve and led to some good transition opportunities for us and we were able to capitalize on those opportunities."

The Penguins responded with an early 11-3 run to start the second set. They would go on to win it 25-10 after finishing with 13 of the frame's final 14 points. Both teams battled for an advantage in the third set until Dominican scored three unanswered points to go up 12-9. From there, the home team was able to maintain that margin, later extending it with a 25-14 victory.

Dominican's momentum of seven straight points to end the third set carried into the fourth where they started ahead 5-0. Redshirt freshman outside hitter Ema Causevic provided some early offense for the Urban Knights, but 19-15 is as close as Academy of Art would come. The Penguins ended the set and match on a 6-1 run, taking the fourth 25-16.

" I think Dominican put a lot of pressure on us with their serve and we felt like we were playing back on our heels all night," said Batalon. "They also were able to keep rallies going and we became really impatient thus resulting in errors on our part."

ART U moves to 1-8 overall and 0-1 in PacWest play. Brum led the way with 16 kills (two shy of her season-high) and Speakman added 10. Teu finished with 15 assists, sophomore setter Alana Lucas posted 13, and redshirt sophomore libero Lyndsay Mlynar delivered 25 digs (also two off her season-high).

Dominican rises to 5-4 with the win and 1-0 in conference. Aimee Steinwand and Kate Even shared the team lead with 11 kills.

Academy of Art will conclude its non-conference season with a match at Stanislaus State this Tuesday, Sept. 20 in Turlock.