Box Score
Photo Gallery (images by Kenny Chacon)
San Francisco, CA -- It had been a rough go to begin the PacWest schedule for the Academy of Art University volleyball squad, but on Wednesday night, they exorcised their demons and got in the win column with a resounding 3-1 victory over visiting Chaminade. The Urban Knights got four players in double figures in the kills department, led by freshman
Emily Papale with 16 kills, and broke a recent slide since the start of conference play by scores of 25-17, 24-26, 25-19, and 25-22.
"It's great to get our first conference win," said head coach
Ed Jackson. "We had a rough start in conference after having a good preseason start, so to finally get in the win column gives us confidence moving forward into playing Hawaii Pacific tomorrow night."
The Urban Knights came out swinging in the first set, breaking out of a close 10-9 lead to take a 17-12 advantage on a kill from
Lindsay Elgin. Papale put the Knights up 20-14, and the Knights increased it to the set point at 24-15 before a service error from Chaminade gave them the first set victory. Academy of Art came back from a 6-1 deficit in the second set to play out a set that featured eight ties, including fighting off set point from a 24-22 hole to tie the game at 24-24 before the Silverswords rattled off a pair of points to take the second set 26-24.
But the Knights broke the pattern that has plagued them so far this season, taking a commanding 10-6 lead in the third set and then shattering a 16-16 stalemate behind a a five-point run with
Rachael Smith serving. Again at set point, the Silverswords got back to back kills before Papale put the Knights up 2-1 with a 25-19 win.
"I think the big thing that we learned from our previous matches where we have struggled after the first set is just to keep fighting, and as long as we have a lot of heart and determination, the execution comes," said Jackson. "You just have to keep battling it out and talking to each other, keep working hard, and eventually you get back on the positive side and going in the right direction. I think that's what we were able to do tonight. Even in the second set that we lost, we only lost by a couple points, and they did a great job of fighting back there and getting in a position to win."
The fourth and final set was also a close battle with 10 ties. ART U was down 13-10 before
Brittany Ulmer got a kill and then a service ace tied the game at 16-16. Smith got in on the attack to tie the game at 19-19, and after ties at 20-20 and 21-21, ART U got back-to-back kills from Papale and then an ace from
Kanoe Irvine made it a 24-21 game. The Swords got one point back with the match on the line, but a service error from Cassie Rushlow ended the night in triumphant fashion for the Urban Knights.
ART U was led by Papale, who had 16 kills to lead all hitters.
Melissa Brum had 11 kills and 17 digs, while Ulmer had 11 kills on a .421 hitting percentage.
Lindsay Elgin also had 10 kills to go with four blocks. Kim Spring had 15 kills to lead Chaminade.
"I think we stayed positive the entire time, and it felt good to get a win," said Ulmer. "Our first four games we got off to a rough start so tonight, finally applying what Ed and Alanna give us every day at practice, and winning, that felt great. We'll hang on to that feeling and aim for it every time."
The Knights play again tomorrow night against Hawaii Pacific at 7:00 PM at Kezar Pavilion.
