Match #5
ART U Urban Knights (0-4) vs. Montana State Billings Yellowjackets (4-0)
Friday, August 31, 2018 at 8:30 a.m.
San Francisco – Main Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #6
ART U Urban Knights (0-4) vs. Cal State Dominguez Hills (1-2)
Friday, August 31, 2018 at 3:15 p.m.
San Francisco – Main Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #7
ART U Urban Knights (0-4) vs. Saint Martin's (0-2)
Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Main Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #8
ART U Urban Knights (0-4) vs. SF State Gators (3-0)
Saturday, September 1, 2018 at 7:45 p.m.
San Francisco – Main Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART FACES FOUR IN WEST REGION VOLLEYBALL CROSSOVER
Following its first tournament of the season, Academy of Art University volleyball now becomes the host itself with four contests out of 12 total as part of the West Region Volleyball Crossover happening Aug. 31-Sept. 1. ART U is set to face opponents from the other two West Region conferences with Montana State Billings and Saint Martin's of the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) plus Cal State Dominguez Hills and SF State of the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) on the horizon.

FIRST SERVE
Friday sees ART U open the tournament against Montana State Billings at 8:30 a.m. before facing Cal State Dominguez Hills at 3:15 p.m. Then, on Saturday, the Knights play twice once again with Saint Martin's in the early afternoon at 1 p.m. followed by the tourney finale at 7:45 p.m. All matches will take place inside the Gators' Main Gymnasium. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Four matches into the 2018 season, ART U is led by freshman outside hitter Celena Davison's 2.50 kills per set and sophomore middle blocker Sadie Emery's 2.20 kills per set. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Pawlak has put up a team-high 3.25 digs per set as well as three service aces while freshman setter Picabo Reinhold averages 4.92 assists per set. Eight total blocks through the first weekend has brought redshirt senior middle blocker Safua Elisaia to just four away from Amy Bush's 267 rejections which are second on the Urban Knights' career list.

THE BEE HIVE IS ALIVE
A sweep through the Minnesota State Moorhead Classic to start the year and Montana State Billings comes into this week 4-0. The Yellowjackets, who were picked to finish ninth in the GNAC Preseason Poll after a 9-21 run in 2017, went into five sets on two occasions, defeating South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, University of Mary, Minot State, and Western Colorado State. MSUB carries one of two GNAC Offensive Player of the Week awards in Eavan Taylor who is averaging 2.12 kills and 0.88 blocks per set in addition to offering a .391 hitting percentage. ART U is 2-0 historically versus the Yellowjackets.

CHARGE!
After being swept by No. 6 Lewis and No. 8 Nebraska at Kearney to start the year, Cal State Dominguez Hills got a sweep of its own over Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the Cal State San Marcos Cougar Classic. Picked to finish sixth in the South Division of the CCAA, the Toros have been led by Tati Yandall's 3.75 kills per set and Rylee Brown's 3.00 kills per set thus far. In just one previous meeting (back in 2008), Academy of Art holds a 1-0 lead against CSUDH.

SAINTS GO MARCHING IN
In Hawaii for their first tournament, Saint Martin's was able to only play two matches rather than four as Hurricane Lane brought 31 inches of water on Hilo. Before the tourney's cancellation, the Saints, who were picked to finish 11th in the GNAC Preseason Poll, took a pair of defeats at the hands of Hilo (whom they will meet again in San Francisco) and Chaminade. Through two matches, SMU has been led by Emily Gooding's 1.14 blocks per set and 2.71 kills per set from Rachel Gondrezick. The Knights and Saints are an even 2-2 all-time.

CITY CLASH
Alongside ART U in the NorCal Volleyball Classic this past weekend, SF State went 3-0, sweeping Pacific Union, Notre Dame de Namur, and Holy Names in a span of two days. Picked to finish fifth in the North Division of the CCAA, the Gators relied heavily on 4.00 kills per set and a .398 hitting percentage from Drew Morris as well as 6.00 digs per set from Vanessa Ditz. The historical matchup has the teams knotted at 2-2, but Academy of Art comes off a thrilling 3-2 victory over SF State last year in the D2 Volleyball Showcase finale.

LOOKING AHEAD
With its first non-conference portion complete after this weekend, ART U enters into PacWest Conference play with road matches on back-to-back days at Point Loma (Sept. 7) and Azusa Pacific (Sept. 8).