Match #9
ART U Urban Knights (3-5, 0-0 PacWest) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (5-3, 0-0 PacWest)
Friday, September 17, 2021 at 6 p.m.
Azusa, Calif. – Felix Event Center
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #10
ART U Urban Knights (3-5) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (4-4, 0-0 PacWest)
Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 3 p.m.
San Diego – Golden Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

PACWEST ACTION BEGINS FOR ACADEMY OF ART
Emerging from its two season-opening non-conference tournaments at 3-5 overall, Academy of Art volleyball will get its first look at two Pacific West Conference opponents, Azusa Pacific and Point Loma, in Southern California this week.

FIRST SERVE
Inside the Felix Event Center on Friday, Sept. 17, the Urban Knights make their 2021 PacWest debut at 6 p.m. against Azusa Pacific. The following afternoon on Saturday, Sept. 18 at 3 p.m., ART U faces Point Loma inside the Sea Lions' Golden Gymnasium. 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
Academy of Art has maintained its spot ranked first in the PacWest with a .217 hitting percentage along with the third-highest assists per set average (11.52) plus fourth-most kills (12.32) and service aces (1.52) per set. Sitting eighth through 10th in the conference in kills per set, the outside hitter trio of freshman Katherine Von Kraut (3.19), junior Isaura Santos (2.83), and freshman Ashley Mecham (2.81) have accounted for nearly nine kills per set between them. While Von Kraut is eighth in hitting percentage (.316), it is senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery who checks in at fourth overall with a .348 clip. At 10.23 assists per set, junior setter Picabo Reinhold is one of two PacWest student-athletes averaging a mark in the double-digits while freshman libero Elena Torres is just outside the conference's top 10 at a team-best 3.46 digs per set. With eight block solos thus far, junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton (0.77 blocks per set) now ranks fourth in her career on the ART U all-time list.

COUGARS COOKING LATELY
Approaching its first PacWest contests, Azusa Pacific is 5-3 overall with losses having come to multiple nationally-ranked teams in the Seaside Invite before a four-match sweep in the SoCal Freeway Challenge that the Cougars co-hosted. That win streak, which APU carries into Friday's matchup with ART U, included wins over Stanislaus State and Cal State San Marcos. Azusa Pacific is currently tied for the PacWest lead in blocks per set (2.21) and ranks second in the PacWest in assists per set (12.03) as well as third in kills per set (12.55) thanks to Katarina Radisic's conference-leading 3.77 kills per set plus the defensive duo of Delaney Dunham (1.15) and Kyra Palmbush (1.13) who pace the PacWest in blocks per set. The historic matchup favors Azusa Pacific over Academy of Art 8-3.

GETTING TO THE POINT
A win over No. 22 Regis was the bright point during Point Loma's season-opening Seaside Invite, but the Sea Lions added three more wins in the SoCal Freeway Challenge for a 4-4 record heading into conference play. Victories against Westminster, Stanislaus State, and Cal State San Marcos give PLNU momentum as a Sept. 17 pairing with Fresno Pacific is first up before ART U comes to town the following day. Boasting the PacWest's second-highest hitting percentage at .389, Anna Massari has been a key offensive piece of Point Loma's attack while Courtney Dyer and her conference-leading 6.39 digs per set have led the defense. The Sea Lions lead the Urban Knights 12-1 in previous meetings

GATOR/SEAWOLF CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTED BY KNIGHTS' WIN OVER SSU
Competing in both San Francisco and Rohnert Park for the Gator/Seawolf Classic, Academy of Art took a pair of tough losses to Cal State Monterey Bay and tourney co-host SF State on Sept. 10, but bounced back the following day on Sept. 11 with a split that included a 3-1 victory over tourney co-host Sonoma State.

LOOKING AHEAD
Having been on the road for its first 10 matches, ART U will next embark upon a six-part homestand which begins with Fresno Pacific coming to Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont on Sept. 22.