CARSON, Calif. – Academy of Art volleyball hung tough in the Toro Classic's final day, but ended up dropping 3-0 results to Humboldt State (25-21, 25-18, 25-16) and Cal State Dominguez Hills (25-13, 25-11, 25-18) on Saturday back inside the Torodome.

MATCH 1 – HSU 3, ART U 0
Though the Lumberjacks gained a slight 9-7 advantage, the Urban Knights responded by scoring five of the next six points including a back-to-back kill and service ace from freshman outside hitter Annie Blumenstein. ART U remained in control as junior middle blocker Sadie Emery provided a pair of kills, but from up 19-17, Academy of Art saw the opening set slip away as Humboldt State went on an 8-2 run to close with a 25-21 victory.

From an even 7-7 in the second set, HSU scored five straight during an 8-1 push for a 15-8 lead midway through. Kills by junior middle blocker Carly Evetts, Emery, and junior outside hitter Ashley Pawlak keyed a 4-0 run to put the Knights back in it at 19-16. However, the Jacks closed strong once more, rattling off six of the final eight points for a 25-18 end result.

ART U started the third set emphatically with a 5-0 surge that featured two kills from redshirt sophomore outside hitter Celena Davison. Humboldt State would respond and the teams found themselves going back and forth until it was 14-14. Continuing the pattern one last time, an 11-2 run came from HSU as the Jacks closed the match on a 25-16 set score.

MATCH 2 – CSUDH 3, ART U 0
Academy of Art spread around its offense with kills from Davison, freshman middle blocker Kylie Lenberg, Evetts, and Blumenstein in the early going, but a 12-3 momentum shift put Cal State Dominguez Hills ahead 20-10 and eventually led the home team to a 25-13 opening set win. The second set turned the way of the Toros on a 7-0 run that was soon followed by a 9-2 push for the 25-11 set and a 2-0 advantage.

Up 14-6 to start the third frame, CSUDH faced a 5-2 response from the Knights as Evetts delivered a solo block before Pawlak and Emery each registered put-aways of their own. After withstanding another blow from the Toros, ART U pulled to within five points after a 5-1 run, but the final two points were won by Cal State Dominguez Hills and the match ended on a 25-18 set score.

Academy of Art wraps up its first weekend of action with an 0-3 record despite having different players lead the team in kills in each of Saturday's matches. Evetts posted 10 kills on a .667 hitting percentage against HSU and Pawlak finished with eight kills in each contest, pacing the squad versus CSUDH. Pawlak also led ART U in digs with 15 in the opening match and nine against the Toros. Sophomore setter Picabo Reinhold averaged an even 8.0 assists per set on the day.

Humboldt State concluded the Toro Classic with a 2-1 record while host Cal State Dominguez Hills remained a perfect 3-0. Summer Hansen's 15 kills led the Jacks in their matchup with ART U and Renee Wheeler had a team-best 12 kills for the Toros in the nightcap.

The Urban Knights will next venture to San Diego to face four teams (Chico State, Saint Martin's, Montana State Billings, and UC San Diego) as part of the D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase over Sept. 13-14.