Match #3
ART U Urban Knights (0-2, 0-2 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (0-2, 0-2 PWC)
Friday, March 26, 2021 at 4 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART CLOSES WEEK AGAINST PENGUINS
Returning for its second home match of the season, ART U volleyball plays host to Dominican this Friday in a matchup of two teams each looking for their first win of 2021.

FIRST SERVE
The Urban Knights matchup with Dominican this Friday, Mar. 26 inside Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont for a 4 p.m. first serve. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Academy of Art's second match of the season was a five-set see-saw battle with Holy Names this past Tuesday, Mar. 23. Despite holding a 2-1 lead in the contest, ART U ultimately fell to the Hawks 15-11 in the final frame. Three Urban Knights finished with double-digit kills led by sophomore outside hitter Annie Blumenstein and freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham's 11 apiece.

Through two matches thus far in 2021, Mecham paces the team with 3.00 kills per set while ranking ninth in the Pacific West Conference in both kills and points per set (3.39). Atop the conference at 8.33 assists per set is freshman setter Nina Garcia who also ranks fourth in the PacWest with 0.67 service aces per set. Steadily approaching the program record in career service aces, senior outside hitter/libero Ashley Pawlak currently sits at 93 behind second-place Brittany Ulmer (101) and ART U leader Kanoe Irvine (106). Pawlak also serves as the team's digs per set leader (2.78) with 1,077 in her career behind program record holder Melissa Brum's 1,152. Mecham is second at 2.67 digs per set after logging her first double-double with 11 kills and 18 digs against HNU. The trio of Mecham, freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut, and freshman middle blocker Hannah Richman make up a three-part tie for the team's tops in total blocks at three apiece.

DUELING DOMINICAN
Winners of one set through their first two matches, the Penguins enter this week 0-2 following losses to Holy Names and Fresno Pacific on back-to-back days. The team's leader in kills per set is Catherine Johnson (2.71) while Hana Wyles checks in with the highest digs per set average (4.17) among players with more than a single set played. The historical matchup is nearly even with Dominican ahead of ART U 14-12.

LOOKING AHEAD
The final home match of this abbreviated season is next for Academy of Art with Holy Names coming to Walter Gleason Gym for a 1 p.m. start on Thursday, Apr. 1.