2018 Volleyball Schedule

SAN FRANCISCO – The Academy of Art University volleyball program and first year head coach Allen McCreary have officially released the Urban Knights' 2018 schedule.
 
ART U kicks off this year's campaign earlier than ever, facing off against Sonoma State and Chico State, two teams that reached the California Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament, on Aug. 24 at the NorCal Volleyball Classic. The tournament wraps up the following day with another pair of matches, starting with Humboldt State and then host Stanislaus State.

"I am used to starting this early coming from the Division I level so it will not affect anything as we prepare for season," said McCreary. "We were looking at making it a balanced schedule with teams up and down California. Some of the top team across the country will be playing in this tournament."
 
The next stop in the 2018 season is the six-team West Region Volleyball Crossover which Academy of Art will host at SF State. The tournament begins with ART U's matchup with Montana State Billings on Aug. 31 then Cal State Dominguez Hills later in the day. The Urban Knights close out the next day with matches against Saint Martin's and SF State.
 
The PacWest portion of the schedule starts in San Diego against Point Loma on Sept. 7. The next day, ART U heads north to challenge last year's third-place conference finisher Azusa Pacific.
 
The Urban Knights will return to the bay to take on local rival Holy Names on Sept. 12. Leading the Hawks 15-4 all-time, ART U hopes to continue their four-match win streak. Academy of Art will then move on to host Biola on Sept. 14 before welcoming Concordia to Kezar Pavilion the following day. Both Eagles teams finished among the top four in the conference standings in 2017.
 
"Each team is out there getting better and better each day," said Allen. "The PacWest is one of the toughest conferences out there in Division II and it's still going to be hard to get wins day in and day out. Our goal is to get better every day we step on the court."
 
Back on the road Sept. 21, ART U travels south to Belmont to challenge Notre Dame de Namur who posted a 12-8 conference record and ended fifth overall last year. The Knights will then be back inside Kezar Pavilion the on Sept. 22 to host Fresno Pacific.
 
Academy of Art's first out-of-state roadtrip will be to Hawaii for a trio of matches. The trip starts on the Big Island with UH Hilo on Sept. 28, then moves to Oahu for a match against Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 30. The Urban Knights wrap up the island tour with Chaminade on Oct. 1.
 
ART U's return to the mainland starts with a week off from competition followed by a three-part homestand that will feature three rematches: Notre Dame de Namur (Oct. 8), Azusa Pacific (Oct. 12), and Point Loma (Oct. 13). The Urban Knights then have one match on the road versus Dominican on Oct. 17, before four more at home, starting with Chaminade (Oct. 20), UH Hilo (Oct. 21), Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 27), and finishing with Holy Names (Oct. 31).
 
The season's final stretch begins with a rematch against Fresno Pacific in Fresno on Nov. 2. And the last home match of the season follows as the Urban Knights celebrate Senior Day against Dominican on Nov. 5.
 
The 2018 campaign closes with a tough road trip to Southern California where ART U will take on Concordia (Nov. 9) and Biola (Nov. 10) once again.