BELMONT, Calif. – In not just their first match of the season, but first collegiate action for many, the Urban Knights split a pair of contests at the Route 92 Showdown hosted by Notre Dame de Namur. An Academy of Art University volleyball team of exclusively freshmen and sophomores rallied back from down 2-1 to win 3-2 against Montana State Billings before taking a 3-0 loss at the hands of Stanislaus State.

MATCH 1
ART U faced tough serving by Montana State Billings early on, falling behind after an 11-1 run by the Yellowjackets. Sophomore Margaret Winkler, sophomore Bailey Soolsma, and freshman Hanna Kahn each dropped kills back-to-back-to-back to close the gap to six, but MSUB prevailed 25-18.

There appeared to be some déjà vu in the second frame with Montana State Billings up 14-6 following a 10-1 surge, however, Academy of Art responded with a 7-1 run and later a 4-0 move to gain the lead. Freshman Sydney Koehler offered a kill and service ace during the second push before consecutive putaways by freshman Stine Raben and Winkler gave ART U the 25-22 win.

A pivotal third set went the way of MSUB after four unanswered Yellowjacket points from a 20-20 tie score. Koehler emerged with give kills in the set. Despite the 2-1 deficit, the Knights came out strong in the fourth, gaining a 16-9 advantage on seven straight scores highlighted by freshman Alana Lucas' service ace and kills by Soolsma and Raben. Montana State Billings crept as close as one point, but Lucas set Raben for two slams in the final three points to even the match with a 25-23 victory.

The fifth set saw Academy of Art go quickly ahead 9-3, riding the momentum of three kills from freshman Hanna Kahn. ART U would trade points with their opponent before finishing off their and head coach Ray Batalon's first win of the season with a 15-11 final.

MATCH 2
Stanislaus State and Academy of Art were locked in a back-and-forth battle in the early part of the first set in the evening matchup. From 8-8, however, the Warriors rattled off five in a row and the margin was aided by six unanswered to end with a 25-14 win.

Kills by five different Urban Knights came in the seesaw start to the second, but like the first set, a five-point Stan State rally created separation. A 6-0 ART U run brought Academy of Art to within one, 14-13, but the Warriors won six of the next eight points and held on for a 25-18 final. The third set resembled the second with the Knights coming as close as one, 14-13, before Stan State separated with a 6-1 push to eventually earn the sweep with a 25-18 victory.

On the day, Raben led Academy of Art offensively in both matches, tallying 16 kills in the first and 11 in the second. Soolsma and Koehler each reached double digits in kills in the first contest with 12 and 11 apiece while Lyndsay Mlynar offered match-high digs of 28 and 16 in each. Lucas amassed 50 assists in her first collegiate action and Winkler hit .714 on seven swings in the opener as well.

Tomorrow, Academy of Art returns to Walter Gleason Gym for two more matches in the Route 92 Showdown. The first, versus Cal State Monterey Bay, is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. and will be followed by Chico State at 2 p.m.