Though ART U scored the first two points of the day, the Vulcans rallied for eight of the next nine, but a 4-2 run that featured multiple kills from sophomore outside hitter Ashley Pawlak kept the Knights close. It was a 9-2 push that swung the momentum back to the visitors and, despite kills from junior opposite Kiersten Kerch, freshman middle blocker Jillian Wheaton, and redshirt senior middle blocker Safua Elisaia down the stretch, UH Hilo prevailed 25-12 in the opening set.

A 5-0 run with two kills off the hand of Elisaia helped put Academy of Art in front 7-3 to open the second frame, but the Vulcans worked their way back to an even 9-9 score. Another stretch of five unanswered points were highlighted by blocks from Pawlak and Wheaton then Wheaton and Kerch, giving ART U a 14-11 advantage. UH Hilo answered with a 5-0 rebuttal and, as the teams went back and forth, it was four straight by the Vulcans that got them to a 23-18 lead before outlasting one final gasp from the Knights to win set two 25-21.

Setting the tone right away in the third, Academy of Art started with kills from Kerch and Pawlak then added blocks by Elisaia and Wheaton as well as Kerch and Wheaton. From another 9-9 tie, ART U connected on five kills during a 6-1 surge and that margin held until UH Hilo crept back to cut their deficit to 22-20. The Urban Knights took care of business, however, as a kill by Wheaton was followed by her block assist with Kerch and Elisaia finished off the 25-20 set victory with a kill.

A 6-1 push by the Vulcans was matched by ART U with redshirt senior libero Lyndsay Mlynar delivering two service aces to give her team a 12-10 lead in the fourth. Eight straight by UH Hilo, however, marked a definitive shift as the visitors would eventually finish off the win by way of a 25-16 end result.
 

Academy of Art, now 0-24 overall and 0-16 in PacWest play, amassed 11 blocks which was the second-highest total only to the 13 ART U collected versus Dominican on Oct. 17. Four Urban Knights had four or more blocks led by six from Wheaton which came along with seven kills. Elisaia had 11 kills plus 13 digs and four blocks to bring her now one behind career record-holder Margaret Winkler's 303. Pawlak provided a team-high 12 kills which combined with 12 digs for her seventh double-double of the year. Kerch added eight kills and five blocks, sophomore middle blocker Sadie Emery finished with five blocks, freshman setter Picabo Reinhold totaled 26 assists with 10 digs for her eighth double-double, and Mlynar posted a match-high 17 digs.

"We knew that UH Hilo is a good attacking team so we had to be patient, not jump early, and work to seal the seam," said head coach Allen McCreary. "As the stats showed, we blocked well enough for us to dig 70 balls and that tells us we are doing it correctly because we work to funnel the ball to our defenders to dig."

UH Hilo improves to 15-5 on the season and 11-3 in conference. Bria Beale and Alexandria Parisian shared the team-high with 12 kills apiece.

The Urban Knights close out the month of October with two more home matches as Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 27) and Holy Names (Oct. 31) will next rematch ART U inside Kezar Pavilion.