SAN FRANCISCO – On Saturday afternoon inside Kezar Pavilion, Academy of Art volleyball found itself in a dogfight of a first set with Point Loma, but ultimately fell 3-0 (25-21, 25-16, 25-16) to the Sea Lions.
Up 6-4 after redshirt senior middle blocker
Safua Elisaia crushed three kills, the Urban Knights saw their momentum shift as a 5-2 run put the visitors ahead. Sophomore middle blocker
Sadie Emery and junior opposite
Kiersten Kerch combined on a block as ART U retook the lead 12-11 and, following another PLNU advantage, two consecutive service aces from redshirt senior libero
Lyndsay Mlynar made it a 17-17 ballgame. Separated by one point at 21-20, the set was decided via a final 4-1 push by the Sea Lions to win 25-21.
Neither side led by more than three in the early stages of the second set and, despite trailing 11-8, Academy of Art rallied back to an 11-11 score after Kerch put away a kill and two Point Loma attack errors followed. The 10-1 run by PLNU that ensued ended up turning the tide for the Knights who got kills from freshman outside hitter
Celena Davison, sophomore outside hitter
Ashley Pawlak, and Elisaia down the stretch before the Sea Lions prevailed 25-16.
Pawlak helped with offense at the start of the third frame, but Point Loma worked its way to an 11-6 advantage and eventually a double-digit margin at 21-11. ART U's last surge came in 4-1 run that featured kills by Davison and freshman middle blocker
Jillian Wheaton, but PLNU matched its second set score with a 25-16 final for the win.
Now 0-21 overall and 0-13 in PacWest play, ART U had a trio of hitters with seven kills or more as Pawlak offered eight, Kerch added seven, and Elisaia put up seven kills along with six digs. Freshman setter
Picabo Reinhold amassed 18 assists, Mlynar paced the team with nine digs, and Emery finished with five block assists.
Point Loma improves to 13-7 on the season and 10-3 in conference with the day's result. Jaime Cymbaluk and Kayla Chapman both led the Sea Lions with eight kills apiece.
With the week's homestand complete, Academy of Art will make a brief departure from Kezar Pavilion to Dominican in San Rafael on Wednesday, Oct. 17.
