Match #11
ART U Urban Knights (2-8, 0-1 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (4-6, 0-1 PWC)
Friday, September 23, 2016 at 1:30 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #12
ART U Urban Knights (2-8, 0-1 PWC) vs. Concordia Eagles (10-1, 1-1 PWC)
Saturday, September 24, 2016 at 5 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART HOSTS APU, CUI IN TO OPEN FIRST HOMESTAND
Coming off an inspired come-from-behind victory at Stanislaus State earlier this week, ART U Volleyball serves up its first two home matches of the year on Friday and Saturday. The Urban Knights welcome Azusa Pacific and Concordia to Kezar Pavilion in a return to Pacific West Conference play.

FIRST SERVE
The first home match of ART U's 2016 season takes place this Friday, Sept. 23 against Azusa Pacific at 1:30 p.m. Academy of Art then hosts Concordia on Saturday, Sept. 24. 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
One of just four student-athletes averaging one block per set or more in the PacWest, junior middle blocker Margaret Winkler ranks second in the conference at 1.11 rejections per set. She is 38th in all of NCAA Division II. Senior outside hitters Melissa Brum and Kabrina Speakman currently share kill totals (103) and pace the team at 2.86 and 2.51 kills per set. Redshirt freshman Ema Causevic comes off a breakout performance against Stanislaus State (16 kills, 23 digs) and it is freshman setter Lilika Teu who owns the team lead with 5.12assists per set. Maintaining her place among the conference leaders all season, redshirt sophomore libero Lyndsay Mlynar saw her digs per set rise to 4.93, good for fifth in the PacWest.

IT'S A ZU
Though Azusa Pacific dropped its first three matches of the year, the Cougars came back to win four of their next five, defeating Montana State Billings, Humboldt State, and Cal State Dominguez Hills in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase. Last week, APU prevailed over Cal Poly Pomona then fell to Point Loma, each in five sets. Having success by committee, the Cougars have five individuals who are averaging 2+ points per set, led by Julianne Miller (2.61). Academy of Art and APU have split their four previous meetings.

CONCORDIA LOOKING TO CONQUER
After winning their first 10 matches of the year, Concordia sustained its first loss at the hands of Dixie State in just its second PacWest match. The Eagles had rolled through numerous West Region opponents including Seattle Pacific, UC San Diego, Western Oregon, Chico State, Alaska, and Stanislaus State (those last four in the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase) then swept Fresno Pacific in their conference debut. However, CUI was swept by Dixie State on Sept. 17 and is scheduled to play Dominican this Friday to start a three-part Bay Area homestand. Rachel Flynn paces Concordia with 3.95 points per set. The Eagles lead the Knights 2-0 in the all-time matchup which began last season.

VOLLEYBALL STUNS STANISLAUS IN 3-2 COMEBACK
Facing a 2-0 deficit against Stanislaus State on Sept. 20, Academy of Art University volleyball refused to give up and instead pulled off an incredible 3-2 victory (20-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 15-13) inside Fitzpatrick Arena on Tuesday night. The Urban Knights' conclusion to non-conference play saw a major shift occur late in the third set as the team rallied behind a breakout performance from Causevic in the triumph.

LOOKING AHEAD
The ART U homestand continues with two matches over a five-day span beginning next week with BYU-Hawaii (Sept. 28) and Dominican (Oct. 3).