Box Score

Honolulu, HI -- The Academy of Art showed incredible heart and determination Thursday night by knocking off Hawaii Pacific, the #6 team in the West Region, 3-2 (20-25, 25-17, 28-26, 10-25, 15-12) inside Saint Andrew's Priory. The Urban Knights earned their second consecutive victory amid a six-match Hawaii roadtrip and had stellar performances all around. Senior outside hitter Leinani Keanini posted 16 kills to lead the team with Ka'ena Kaina right behind her at 15 kills. Junior setter Melissa Cheng added 44 assists while freshman libero Midori Le provided 22 digs. Senior middle blocker Amy Bush tied an ART U program record with 11 total blocks (four solo, seven assisted) in this match as well.

The Knights were televised live back here on the mainland, and for those who stayed up until 12:30 to watch them play, it was a night to remember. Academy of Art, who hasn't defeated Hawaii Pacific since 2009, displayed incredible resolve, taking leads and refusing to give them up as the sets went on. Except for a fourth set dominated by HPU, the Knights scratched, clawed, and ultimately got their second win on this tough stretch through Hawaii. The win also virtually knocked the Sea Warriors out of post-season contention. 

Coming off a sweep of Chaminade, the Urban Knights played with a lot of momentum and took advantage of some costly mistakes by Hawaii Pacific, who actually had more kills than the Knights (65 to 51) and had a higher hitting percentage (.175 to .121), but also had more errors (35 to 30), which proved to be the difference in the game. 

"Games are won and lost with errors," Coach Magner said via text message. "We have been dedicated to reducing our errors and being in control of the things that we can control. Last night we played cool, calm, and collected despite any adversity."

The first set was relatively error-free for the Sea Warriors, who only had four errors and hit at a .312 clip. HPU had built a 13-6 lead, but Urban Knights hung on, eventually tying the game at 17-17 and going ahead on the next point on a kill by Camille Board. The two teams traded points, tying the game again at 20-20, but the Sea Warriors rattled off five straight to finish off the set win. The Sea Warriors only had four errors in the first set compared to nine by the Knights, but things soon went south for the home team.

The Knights started off the second set taking a quick 3-1 lead, and after another flurry of trading points, Academy of Art started to put some runs together to take the lead. The Urban Knights capitalized on some key errors and used them to go on runs of three points (17-12), five points (22-13) and three more to end the match at 25-17. ART U outhit the Sea Warriors .250 to .051, as the roles reversed, with HPU making nine errors to the Knights five. 

The third set was a battle from the get-go, featuring a thrilling 17 ties before the Knights, down to their final chance, got a huge kill from Keanini to tie the game at 26-26. Cheng found Camille Board to follow that up with a kill, and then an attack error by the Sea Warriors ended the marathon match at 28-26. HPU actually outhit the Knights in the match .130 to .122, but their errors were what sunk them as they made 11 to the Knights 5.

Hawaii Pacific came out with a glint in their eye in the fourth set, never really giving the Urban Knights a chance to enjoy their hard-fought victory a set earlier, and outhitting them .375 to -.049. Sanoe Recca and Courtney Curran combined for eight kills in the set for the Sea Warriors, and both ended the game as the kill leaders for the home team, with 16 and 14 kills, respectively. 

The deciding fifth set looked to be all Knights from the get go, as they went up 6-1 on Board's sixth kill of the day. The Sea Warriors were determined not to fall on their home floor and kept it close, getting it to 11-9 before Keanini and the Knights took over for good. With their backs against the wall, the home team battled back, using a three-point run to make it 12-12, but an attack error on Curran, followed by a kill by Heath and another error on Recca gave the Knights arguably their most impressive and important win of 2011. 

"We absolutely executed our game plan," Magner said. "And we proved what we already know: that we can play at the highest level. Hard work and determination paid off. It was a complete team effort. Our girls remained poised and focused against a very respectable HPU team."

The Knights will play BYU-Hawaii on Friday at 1030 PM Pacific Time, and then will go back to Honolulu for a rematch against the Sea Warriors, who will be looking for retribution after Thursday's loss.