ART U Urban Knights (6-3, 1-0 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (5-5, 1-1 PWC)
Thursday, September 25, 2014 at 7:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video

Match #11
ART U Urban Knights (6-3, 1-0 PWC) vs. Dixie State Red Storm (5-5, 2-0 PWC)
Friday, September 26, 2014 at 7:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video
Live Audio

Match #12
ART U Urban Knights (6-3, 1-0 PWC) vs. California Baptist Lancers (6-4, 2-0 PWC)
Saturday, September 27, 2014 at 3:00 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video

FIFTH SWEEP OF 2014 CARRIES ART U INTO THREE MATCHES IN THREE DAYS
It was a memorable beginning to Pacific West Conference play for Academy of Art University Volleyball last week as the Urban Knights finished off a 3-0 sweep of Dominican. Now, after more than a week off from NCAA competition, ART U will host three of the PacWest's top seven teams this Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

OPENING SERVE
ART U begins its home-heavy week by facing Azusa Pacific on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7:30 PM. The following evening, Friday, Sept. 26, will be a special BATTLE OF THE HALLS event for Academy of Art students as the Knights battle Dixie State at 7:30 PM as well. Finally, California Baptist comes to town on Saturday, Sept. 27 for a 3:00 PM first serve. All matches will take place inside Kezar Pavilion and live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
For the team with the best overall record in the PacWest this season, ART U ranks second in hitting percentage (.239) just behind California Baptist, second in service aces per set (1.84), and fourth in assists per set (12.56). Thus far, the Urban Knights have been led by sophomore Melissa Brum who leads the conference and ranks seventh in all of NCAA Division II in kills per set (4.47) as well as eighth in the country in points per set (4.92). With another double-double (11 kills, 11 digs) against Dominican, Brum now has seven double-doubles through nine matches. Junior Rachael Smith is also in the national conversation, ranked 27th in assists per set (11.06), and has surpassed the 2,400 assist plateau for her career (second all-time behind Melissa Cheng's 2,663).

Sophomore Emily Papale is up to 3.28 points per set while junior Isabel Emrich and senior Brittany Ulmer have shown their offensive prowess, averaging 2.91 and 2.39 points per set respectively. Senior Kanoe Irvine remains the conference leader in service aces per set (0.50), joining Ulmer (0.41) and Papale (0.38) in the top 10. Irvine is up to 3.75 digs per set and now has 737 in her career, making her third in program history.

THE COUGAR CLASH
Down in Riverside for the alternate portion of the PacWest-GNAC Challenge, Azusa Pacific managed a single victory (3-0 over Central Washington) despite winning two five-set battles earlier in the year against Cal State Dominguez Hills and Cal State Monterey Bay. Since then, the Cougars have split to start PacWest play, sweeping Holy Names 3-0 and falling to Fresno Pacific in five. Azusa was picked to finish seventh not far from ART U in the preseason coaches' poll. APU is led by Mattie Shelford (3.19 kills/set), Katy Crouse (3.17 kills/set), and Kristina Kam (4.77 digs/set). In only their second matchup to date last season, Academy of Art bested Azusa Pacific 3-1 thanks to 15 kills from Emily Papale.

SEEING RED (STORM)
Picked to finish fourth in the PacWest standings by the coaches in the pre-season, Dixie State finds itself there currently at 5-5 overall and with a 2-0 conference record.  The Red Storm weathered a 2-5 start to the season that included four consecutive losses to Seattle Pacific, Central Washington, Northwest Nazarene, and Western Washington, but have since turned things around by defeating Alaska Anchorage then Notre Dame de Namur and Dominican to start PacWest play. The squad is led by Edithza Urias (3.05 kills/set), Nicole Koehler (3.20 points/set, 0.89 blk/set), and Alex Anderson (4.58 digs/set). Dixie State, who will face Holy Names on Sept. 25, is up 7-4 in the all-time matchup with ART U.

LANCER LINEUP
As another of the PacWest schools in the Route 92 Showdown, California Baptist started the year 3-1 after only falling to Humboldt State. From there, the Lancers pulled off their biggest win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Western Washington, the #9 team in the country at that point. Losses to Alaska Anchorage, Central Washington, and Northwest Nazarene would balance out CBU's 6-4 overall record, but they have since swept both Holy Names and Fresno Pacific to start their PacWest run. California Baptist, picked to finish third in the conference preseason coaches' poll, will play Notre Dame de Namur (Sept. 25) and Dominican (Sept. 26) prior to meeting an ART U team who has not defeated them in five meetings. CBU carries Lauren Hackett, fourth in the PacWest in kills/ set (4.09), and Jenny Perry (conference's top hitter at .438) on its roster along with Becky Moodie, third in PacWest in digs/set (4.64) and Jordyn Siko, second in conference in assists/set (11.26).

KNIGHTS SWEEP PENGUINS IN PACWEST OPENER
Making a splash in their 2014 home and Pacific West Conference debut, ART U Volleyball put away Dominican 3-0 in front of a large crowd inside Kezar Pavilion on Sept. 17. The Urban Knights dominated in the first and third sets and rallied back from a brief deficit in the second to win 25-15, 26-14, 25-14. On this occasion, it was Brum and Emrich's 11 kills apiece that led the way along with 20 digs for Irvine on her birthday.

LOOKING AHEAD
Though they will not play another set of three home matches in three days, Academy of  Art will continue its homestand next week with UH Hilo (Oct. 1) and Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 2) in town on back-to-back nights. The stretch at Kezar Pavilion concludes on Oct. 6 with BYU-Hawaii. Be sure to sign up to ride the Fan Bus to these and other games HERE!