ROHNERT PARK, Calif. – Academy of Art volleyball wrapped up the Gator/Seawolf Classic with a split of two matches inside The Wolves' Den on Saturday. The afternoon began with the Urban Knights defeating tourney co-host Sonoma State 3-1 (25-20, 21-25, 25-13, 25-22) then finished with Humboldt State prevailing 3-1 (25-21, 21-25, 25-10, 25-19) as well.

MATCH 1 – ART U 3, SSU 1
As two of its three outside hitters and one middle blocker came out swinging, Academy of Art started Saturday's match up 5-0. Mecham secured a service ace and drove down kill after kill to maintain that margin and soon junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton had a nice stretch with a pair of put-aways. Four points was as close as the Seawolves would come in the later stages before freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut ended the set with the Knights 25-20 winners.

A much closer second set featured five ties before SSU gained a 13-9 lead. Neither team went on a sizeable run thereafter, but ART U would close the gap to a single point on multiple occasions at 18-17 and at 20-19. Sonoma State did not relinquish its advantage, however, going on to even the match at a set apiece with the 25-21 final.

Another back-and-forth frame yielded separation when Academy of Art used a Mecham kill and a block from Von Kraut and Wheaton to move in front 12-10. Shortly thereafter a Von Kraut kill sparked an 8-1 surge that also saw junior outside hitter Isaura Santos connect on a pair of kills. The Knights would ultimately close the set by scoring 13 of the last 16 points, ending on top 25-13 with a service ace from senior libero/setter Catharina Brant Bambirra providing the punctuation mark.

From a 5-5 tie in the fourth set, ART U used a Santos kill to start a 3-0 push and never looked back. A 7-2 run highlighted by two kills from Von Kraut and one from senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery made it an 18-9 difference and, after weathering a final rally by the Seawolves, the final two Academy of Art points came on kills by Mecham, securing the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

Mecham's match-high 19 kills were a career-high and her 18 digs tied her career-high as she logged her fourth double-double. Santos followed with 13 kills and eight digs while Von Kraut finished with 12 kills and four blocks. Junior setter Picabo Reinhold's 49 assists were a season-high and freshman libero Elena Torres' 19 digs bettered her previous season-high by four.

MATCH 2 – HSU 3, ART U 1
Though the Lumberjacks gained a 12-8 lead early in the contest, a 6-1 response from the Knights (which saw two kills from Santos) put them in front 14-13. Anyone's set at 19-19, the frame wound up in the hands of Humboldt State with a 6-2 run finishing the 25-21 score.

Following a similar script as the first set but with a different outcome, a 7-1 Academy of Art surge featured two Mecham kills and ended on back-to-back Reinhold service aces, taking ART U from down three to up two at 13-11. The lead was exchanged once more, but another 7-1 push all but sealed the 25-21 victory as Von Kraut seemingly could not miss.

A rough third set began with HSU going up 18-4 before taking a 2-1 advantage by way of the 25-10 final score. The fourth frame was a bit different story, however, with three lead changes coming before the Jacks scored eight of 11 points to establish a 17-11 margin in their favor. Santos had multiple kills and Emery added a kill along with a service ace to keep the Knights close, but a 25-19 win for the Jacks ended the day's action.

Academy of Art's overall record stands at 3-5 with the conclusion of non-conference play. Both Von Kraut and Santos reached double figures with 10 kills apiece while Mecham and Torres finished with dig totals of 14 and 13 respectively. Reinhold contributed a match-high 35 assists and Wheaton had her third straight three-block performance.

The first two Pacific West Conference matchups for ART U will come this week on a Southern California roadtrip to play Azusa Pacific (Sept. 17) and Point Loma (Sept. 18).