Three Days, Three Games for ART U Volleyball

GAME #16
ART U Urban Knights (7-8, 3-4 PacWest) vs. Point Loma (13-3, 7-0 PacWest)
October 10, 2013 at 7:00 PM
San Diego, CA -- Golden Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

GAME #17
ART U Urban Knights (7-8, 3-4 PacWest) vs. Azusa Pacific (11-4, 4-2 PacWest)
October 11, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Fullerton, CA -- Darling Pavilion (Hope International)
Live Stats

GAME #18
ART U Urban Knights (7-8, 3-4 PacWest) vs. California Baptist (9-6, 6-1 PacWest)
October 12, 2013 at 7:00 PM
Riverside, CA -- Van Dyne Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

OPENING SERVE
The Urban Knights won three games last week and now will try to continue their success with a tough stretch three games in three days of teams that are all over .500 in conference play. ART U defeated Chaminade last on Wednesday, Hawaii Pacific on Thursday, and then UH Hilo earlier this week on Monday.

SEA LIONS STILL ON TOP
Academy of Art hosted Point Loma Nazarene University earlier this year and actually took a set from the Sea Lions, but PLNU would go on to win that game and win every other game on the conference schedule so far, as they remain the only unbeaten team in the PacWest. In the previous matchup, Point Loma had four attackers in double figures while hitting .259 as a team, which the Knights will be sure to try to lower in their quest to even up the score. PLNU's Alyssa Dwyer is third in the league with a .353 attack percentage, while Heather Leavitt is also third in kills per match (3.78).

HOW SWEEP IT IS
Heading into last week, the Knights had won six in a row against Chaminade but had dropped 12 of the last 13 combined matches against Hawaii Pacific and UH Hilo, and actually had never beaten Hilo before Monday's 3-1 victory. It marked the first time that they had swept a homestand against the Hawaii schools, as the Knights moved ahead of Chaminade and Hilo in the standings and jumped closer to HPU in the process.

COUGARS OFFERING ASSISTANCE
Heading into the road trip, Azusa Pacific is currently leading the conference in assists (13.57 per match) and is second in hitting percentage (.243) and kills per set (14.33), leading to a stretch of seven wins in their past ten games. ART U has not yet played Azusa and will only play them once this year, but will have to deal with Alicia Utke, who has 153 kills at 3.06 per set, good for 12th in the conference, and Christy Cain, who has 148 kills at a .356 clip, which is also one of the top marks in the PacWest.

RECORDS FALL ON HAWAII HOMESTAND
In the three-game homestand against Hawaii, the Knights not only took down Hilo for the first time, but also knocked off a Hawaii Pacific team that was lurking right outside the top-25 rankings in Division II. They were also fueled by a record 63 assists by Rachael Smith against the Sea Warriors on the same night that Melissa Brum set a freshman record with 23 kills. On Monday, more records were broken as junior libero Kanoe Irvine put up a record 36 digs against Hilo.

ART U LOOKS TO AVENGE LOSS FROM LANCERS
The first PacWest match of the year for Academy of Art was against California Baptist, and although the Urban Knights won the first set 25-17, they were unable to sustain as the Lancers won the next three sets. Brum and fellow freshman Emily Papale combined for 29 kills in that match. Kim McCalmont has reached the 200 kill plateau already this year for CBU, while Malika O'Brien (148) and Lauren Marr (141) are about to break 150 on the season. The Lancers also rank first in the PacWest in blocks per set, with 154.0 total.

KNIGHTS ABOUND IN PACWEST RANKINGS
Speaking of conference marks, the Urban Knights are well represented among the conference's best as of Monday's latest release. Linsday Elgin was in the top 10 in hitting percentage at .293 but has upped it to .303 since then, while Brittany Ulmer was just outside in 12th place. Melissa Brum and Emily Papale were both in the top 20 in kills per set, while Rachael Smith's three straight games with 50+ assists have launched her into the top five. Elgin is also in the top five for blocks, while Irvine was seventh before her record-setting performance on Monday.

SETTING IT UP
After the road trip, the Knights will play Holy Names and Dominican at home before heading to Hawaii to close out the month of October.