Match #9
ART U Urban Knights (0-8, 0-0 PWC) vs. PLNU Sea Lions (3-4, 0-0 PWC)
Friday, September 7, 2018 at 7 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #10
ART U Urban Knights (0-8, 0-0 PWC) vs. APU Cougars (5-4, 1-0 PWC)
Saturday, September 8, 2018 at 3 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Felix Event Center
Live Stats & Live Video

ART U MEETS POINT LOMA, AZUSA PACIFIC IN FIRST PACWEST CONTESTS
Academy of Art, now with all eight of its non-conference games complete, begins its 2018 Pacific West Conference campaign in Southern California at Point Loma this Friday and Azusa Pacific on Saturday.

FIRST SERVE
The Urban Knights begin this two-match week in San Diego paired up against Point Loma on Friday, Sept. 7 inside Golden Gymnasium beginning at 7 p.m. The following afternoon, Saturday, Sept. 8, ART U meets Azusa Pacific at the Felix Event Center at 3 p.m. 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
Thus far, Academy of Art is led offensively by sophomore middle blocker Sadie Emery's 2.18 kills per set. Freshman setter Picabo Reinhold moved up to sixth in the conference, now averaging 5.58 assists per set. A total of 10 block assists from breaking the program's career record, redshirt senior middle blocker Safua Elisaia also just moved into second on the Urban Knights' career list for total blocks and needs just 27 more to become the ART U all-time leader. She ranks among the PacWest's top 10, averaging 0.88 blocks per set.

TO THE POINT
Despite opening the year with three consecutive losses, Point Loma exited its first two tournaments 3-4 after recording sweeps of Concordia (Ore.) and Alaska to highlight its run thus far. Cara Keturakis was named PacWest Player of the Week after she posted four consecutive 40-assist performances over the weekend and Rachael Schlect added PacWest Freshman of the Week honors thanks to her 64 kills in 14 sets. PLNU, picked to finish fifth in the conference's Preseason Poll, leads Academy of Art 6-1 in the historical matchup.

COUGARS ON THE ATTACK
The first PacWest Conference team to record a win in 2018, Azusa Pacific is 5-4 after splitting both of its non-conference tournaments and sweeping Concordia on Sept. 5. Nine PacWest coaches selected the Cougars as the favorite to win the conference title this year and APU currently finds itself amid an 11-game homestand at the beginning of PacWest play. Azusa Pacific will host Holy Names on Sept. 7 before meeting Academy of Art. PacWest Preseason Player of the Year Julianne Miller carries a .396 hitting percentage for third in the conference while teammates Sara Wagenveld (.288) and Aliyah Morrison (.278) can also be found among the top 10 thus far. APU holds a 4-3 lead all-time versus ART U.

LOOKING AHEAD
With its first PacWest Conference games behind them, the Knights will remain local for their next five matches which begin with a contest at Holy Names on Sept. 12 followed by back-to-back matches hosting Biola (Sept. 14 at Dominican in San Rafael) and Concordia (Sept. 15 at Kezar Pavilion).