WELCOME BACK:
The Urban Knights finished up a four-match road stint in Hawaii last week. AAU was kept scoreless the entire trip and dropped all four matches, 0-3. Of the two schools AAU was a better match-up with BYU-Hawaii, as they were able to keep each set relatively close. Hawaii-Hilo on the other hand proved their dominance in the PacWest Conference by easily defeating the Urban Knights in both matches. Despite the losses junior outside hitter Dan Yang received Top 10 PacWest Honorable mention for the ninth straight week. Yang ranked fourth in the PacWest in scoring and kills per game during the week. She averaged 3.50 kills and 4.00 points per game and totaled 48 points on 42 kills, two aces, six block assists and a block solo.
HOME STRETCH:
AAU returns to the Bay Area this week, they play Holy Names University for the second and final time this season on Thursday Oct. 29. Then on Friday play the final of two meetings between the Penguins of Dominican University. AAU will have just four more matches before their second season comes to a close.
SCOUTING THE HAWKS:
The last match between the two teams was a battle that lasted five sets. AAU prevailed victorious but Holy Names would not go down without a fight. The Hawks are 3-1 since their last meeting with AAU. Their 7-2 Cal Pac record has landed them in second place in the conference just behind Menlo College. Ashley Nickell still leads HNU with 224 kills. She is averaging 2.9 kills per set and a .193 hitting percentage. Mariah Christensen and Natalie Kasbarian have dished out a combined 482 assists this season, with Kasbarian taking over the top assist leader spot with 270 to that of Christensens 212.
SCOUTING THE PENGUINS
The Urban Knights opened up conference play with the Dominican University Penguins who have still yet to register a win. The Penguins were able to take one set from AAU before dropping the match 3-1. For DU Gabby Pecora tops all Penguins with 315 kills, she averages 3.7 kills per set and has a .194 hitting percentage. Brooke Swingle has 640 assists on the season.
HAWAII RECAP:
AAU started their trip with two close losses. In game one, the Academy of Art University women's volleyball team fell to the BYU-Hawaii 3-0 (29-27, 25-15, 25-19) at the George Q. Cannon Activities Center. Junior outside hitter Dan Yang finished with a team-high 12 kills and 11 digs in the match. Urban Knights women's volleyball put up a valiant effort in game two, but fell to BYU-Hawaii 3-0 (25-20, 25-19, 31-29). For the second consecutive evening, Yang led AAU with a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs.
Next up for the Urban Knights was PacWest powerhouse University of Hawaii-Hilo. Game one of that series found AAU without a set win again. They were defeated by #17 University of Hawaii-Hilo by a score of 3-0 (25-22, 25-11, 25-22). Junior outside hitter Jelena Jakovljevic led the Urban Knights with eight kills, but the team collectively hit .106 which was not enough to keep up with the Vulcans who hit .269. The Urban Knights were unable to tie the two game series, 1-1, as they dropped their final meeting with the Vulcans in three sets, 17-25, 15-25, 21-25. AAU was outdone in almost every category except blocks, as a team AAU out blocked Hilo 9 - 6. For the Urban Knights Jakovljevic and Yang tied for six kills each they both added six and seven digs respectfully with Yang adding four block assists. Hagan was not far behind as she added five kills and four block assists.
