SAN DIEGO – Academy of Art volleyball's second Pacific West Conference matchup in as many days saw the Urban Knights leading 2-1, but Point Loma rallied late for the victory 3-2 (25-22, 23-25, 16-25, 25-17, 15-8) on Saturday afternoon inside Golden Gymnasium. Three Urban Knights posted double-digit kill totals led by another 20 put-aways from junior outside hitter Isaura Santos while freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham recorded a 17-kill, 22-dig double-double.

Neither team led by more than a single point until ART U broke an 8-8 tie with four straight scores including back-to-back kills from Mecham. PLNU would come back to tie then executed a 6-0 run to move up, but Santos provided her team's fourth service ace of the set then her fourth kill to shorten the gap to one point at 21-20. Point Loma, however, closed things out on top 25-22 despite ultimately eight kills from Mecham along with a .583 hitting percentage.

Like the first, the second frame was closely played from the opening serve. The Sea Lions managed to go up 14-9, but that margin was erased by a 6-1 Academy of Art surge highlighted by two kills from freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut. From a 20-20 deadlock thereafter, Mecham and Santos delivered kills and the Knights never looked back, ending their match-evening 25-23 set on a thrilling final point punctuated by the kill from junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton.

Up 3-0 after Von Kraut's put-away, ART U did not relinquish its advantage for the entirety of the third set. Both Santos and Mecham had each reached double-figures in kills early on with the latter hitting over .400 as the Knights' two-point margin grew to five with Von Kraut repeatedly connecting with junior setter Picabo Reinhold. Academy of Art would pull away at the end, taking a 2-1 lead in sets with the 25-16 win.

Point Loma came out of the gate with seven of the first eight points in the fourth frame and a fifth seemed inevitable when the margin moved to 20-10. Von Kraut sent down her 10th kill in the set and Santos added to her total with six more kills, but while Academy of Art fought off three set points with Wheaton and Santos providing the clutch offense, the frame ended in favor of PLNU 25-17.

An ominous start to the decisive fifth set saw the Sea Lions jump in front 4-0 then 11-3. ART U refused to go lightly, however, with Wheaton and Reinhold each notching kills, senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery adding her sixth solo block of the season, and redshirt junior outside hitter Celena Davison  stepping in for a pair of kills. From an 11-8 score, the final four points unfortunately went Point Loma's way for a 15-8 result and the match victory.

Now 3-7 overall and 0-2 in PacWest play, Academy of Art had its second consecutive 20-kill performance come from Santos along with 11 digs. A career day from Mecham saw her go for 17 kills along with 22 digs for her highest total to date and her sixth double-double of the season. Reinhold's 54 assists (tied for 10th all-time among ART U's five-set matches) were a season-high and the third-highest mark of her career while freshman libero Elena Torres' team-high 23 digs bested her previous high by four. Von Kraut added 13 kills, eclipsing the double-digit mark for the eighth time in 10 matches.

Point Loma picked up its fifth consecutive win to move to 6-4 on the season and 2-0 following its first weekend of conference action. A match-high 21 kills came from Torina Hommes while Courtney Dyer led all players with 35 digs.

Next up for ART U will be a six-match homestand which begins with Fresno Pacific coming to Notre Dame de Namur's Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont this Wednesday, Sept. 22 for a 6:30 p.m. first serve.