BELMONT, Calif. – There were firsts aplenty for Academy of Art volleyball on Wednesday as the fall season's home opener inside Walter Gleason Gym saw the Urban Knights capture their first Pacific West Conference victory of the year, a 3-0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-19) triumph over Fresno Pacific, while setting the program's digs record (84) for a three-set match. Leading the way, freshman libero Elena Torres crushed the individual ART U three-set record with 31 digs while three of her teammates reached double figures in the category.

"Our digs were phenomenal tonight and this was one of our best defensive games ever as a team," said Head Coach Allen McCreary. "To see our team put it all together was nice. I think the biggest thing was having a little bit of senior leadership while also knowing that our underclassmen are playing at the same level."

Small runs by the Sunbirds were repeatedly answered by Academy of Art before a significant momentum shift came after FPU's 15-12 advantage. Kills by junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton, freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut, and junior outside hitter Isaura Santos all came during a 5-0 response that put the Knights on top 17-15. Though Fresno Pacific would force several ties thereafter, ART U executed a strong comeback with the set hanging in the balance, scoring four of the final five points to ultimately take the frame 25-23 on a final kill by Santos.

The roles reversed initially in the second set with Academy of Art going ahead 5-1 then 10-6 only to face rallies by the Sunbirds. The Knights refused to allow FPU to come back on the second occasion, extending their lead from 11-9 to 17-11 with a put-away from freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham, three from Wheaton, and one from redshirt senior opposite Kiersten Kerch. Santos and Mecham teamed up for the final five kills to secure a 25-18 win.

That duo's success continued in the third frame and Fresno Pacific miscues helped grow a 7-1 ART U margin initially. The Sunbirds fought back to shorten the gap to two points on multiple occasions thereafter, but senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery's kill capped a three-score swing to give her team a 19-14 advantage and the visitors were held at bay with Mecham connecting on the Knights' last three kills before their 25-19 victory for the match.

The win puts Academy of Art at 4-7 on the season and 1-2 in PacWest contests. Mecham finished with a team-best 17 kills along with 13 digs for her seventh double-double while Santos added 13 kills plus 13 digs for her second consecutive match with a double-double and her third of the year. Reinhold picked up her own double-double (fourth of 2021), amassing 38 assists and 10 digs.

Torres' 31 digs were not only her season-high by eight, but bested the program's previous three-set record of 22 held by Leinani Keanini which she achieved twice. She saved her highest total for the third frame where she collected 13 digs. Collectively, the squad's 84 digs bettered the previous three-set record of 78 which came in 2019.

"We're so young defensively and for us to play like that it gives our team so much confidence that we can play at that level," McCreary said. "We've been practicing being in the right position and setting our block so our defenders can dig around it. Elena played really well tonight."

Now 3-10 overall and 0-3 in conference play, Fresno Pacific had just one player, Corinne Acosta, reach double figures in kills with 10 across 50 attempts. As a team, FPU was held to just a .058 hitting percentage.

The next three opponents for ART U will all be PacWest opponents from Hawaii beginning with Chaminade back inside Walter Gleason Gym on Monday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m.

"We have three tough matches with Hawaii schools coming up," McCreary said. "I think the keys to being successful will be to play more consistent on our attack so we can open up better shots, be a little tougher on our serves, and playing the same type of defense that we did tonight."