Match #6
ART U Urban Knights (0-5, 0-5 PWC) vs. Dominican Penguins (3-3, 2-3 PWC)
Friday, April 16, 2021 at 4 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
Live Stats & Live Video

FINAL MATCH OF 2020-21 PITS KNIGHTS AGAINST PENGUINS
Academy of Art volleyball's shortened 2020-21 campaign concludes this Friday when the Urban Knights go up against Dominican in Pacific West Conference action, rematching from the teams' Mar. 26 encounter.

FIRST SERVE
First serve between ART U and Dominican is set for 4 p.m. this Friday, Apr. 16 inside the Penguins' Conlan Center. 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
Delivering no fewer than 11 kills in all five matches this season, freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham is currently tied for fourth in the PacWest in kills per set (3.47) in addition to sitting seventh in points per set (3.76). In three of those contests, Mecham has added double-digit digs and now ranks second on the team with 3.11 digs per set. remains the Academy of Art team leader in points per set at 3.71 (tied for seventh in the conference). Freshman setter Nina Garcia can also be found among the conference leaders at 8.53 assists per set (third in PacWest) and 0.53 service aces per set (32nd in NCAA Division II, tied for fourth in PacWest). Second on the team in service aces, senior libero Ashley Pawlak's 95 career service aces continue to close in on the top two in program history in Brittany Ulmer (101) and Kanoe Irvine (106). Additionally, Pawlak's season-best 20 digs in her last outing give her 1,125 in her career, 27 from program record holder Melissa Brum (1,152), and the ninth-highest digs per set average (3.84) in the PacWest. Freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut has averaged 3.42 kills per set in her last two matches and comes off of a season-best 13 kills versus Fresno Pacific.

PENGUIN POINTERS
Currently leading the conference at 18.55 digs per set, Dominican has been supported by the duo of Tiff Wong (4.25 digs per set, sixth in PacWest) and Hana Wyles (4.13 digs per set, seventh in PacWest) who took turns leading the team in digs in each of the Penguins' previous two victories over Fresno Pacific (Apr. 2) and Pacific Union (Apr. 11). A three-set loss to Holy Names took place in between those two victories as Dominican now sits at 3-3 overall on the season. Offensively, Catherin Johnson has led the way, averaging 3.25 kills per set (eighth in PacWest). A recent trend of Dominican wins in the historical matchup continued earlier this season with the Penguins now up 15-12 on Academy of Art.

MECHAM, VON KRAUT COMBINE FOR 27 KILLS, FPU TOPS KNIGHTS
It was a close battle through the first two sets of an Apr. 7 Pacific West Conference match against Fresno Pacific, but despite leading the second set late and a match-high 14 kills from freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham, it was FPU that walked away victorious with a three-set win over ART U (25-23, 25-23, 25-16).