Match #5
ART U Urban Knights (2-2) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (3-1)
Friday, September 10, 2021 at 10 a.m.
San Francisco – SF State Main Gym
Live Stats | Live Video
 
Match #6
ART U Urban Knights (2-2) vs. SF State Gators (3-0)
Friday, September 10, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco – SF State Main Gym
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #7
ART U Urban Knights (2-2) vs. Sonoma State Seawolves (0-4)
Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 12:30 p.m.
Rohnert Park, Calif. – The Wolves' Den
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #8
ART U Urban Knights (2-2) vs. Humboldt State Lumberjacks (0-0)
Saturday, September 11, 2021 at 5 p.m.
Rohnert Park, Calif. – The Wolves' Den
Live Stats | Live Video

VOLLEYBALL SPLITS GATOR/SEAWOLF CLASSIC IN TWO LOCATIONS
Set to compete in its second consecutive tournament to start the 2021 fall season, Academy of Art volleyball puts its 2-2 record up against four California Collegiate Athletics Association opponents in the Gator/Seawolf Classic co-hosted by SF State and Sonoma State.

FIRST SERVE
Day one of the Gator/Seawolf Classic, Friday, Sept. 10, pits Academy of Art against Cal State Monterey Bay (10 a.m.) and tournament co-host SF State (7:30 p.m.) both inside the Gators' Main Gym. ART U then travels to The Wolves' Den in Rohnert Park to meet tourney co-host Sonoma State (12:30 p.m.) and Humboldt State (5 p.m.) on Saturday, Sept. 11. 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
Currently ranked first in the Pacific West Conference in hitting percentage (.213), second in assists (11.29 per set), and third in kills (12.47 per set), Academy of Art has relied upon its trio of outside hitters on the offensive end. Freshmen Katherine Von Kraut (3.24 kills per set) and Ashley Mecham (2.76 kills per set) along with junior Isaura Santos (2.73 kills per set) all rank among the PacWest's top nine in kills with Von Kraut's .308 hitting percentage second overall. Not far behind her is senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery in fourth at .286. With her hands in over 87 percent of the kills, junior setter Picabo Reinhold paces the conference with 9.88 assists per set. Defensively, freshman libero Elena Torres serves as the team's leader with 3.00 digs per set and junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton checks in at eighth in the PacWest with 0.82 blocks per set.

OTTERS ONCE MORE
Matching up with ART U for the second time in less than a week, Cal State Monterey Bay concluded its first weekend of action with a 3-1 record which included a 3-1 victory over the Urban Knights. The Otters defeated Dominican and Holy Names, but fell to Fresno Pacific as they toured PacWest competition. CSUMB is led primarily by Jenna Tobin (3.53 kills per set) and Abby Knapp (3.29 kills per set) while Aly Fullbright has averaged 9.50 assists per set (fourth in CCAA). The historical matchup with Academy of Art favors Cal State Monterey Bay 6-2.

STATE OF THE GATORS
A strong start to its 2021 campaign saw SF State go 3-0 in its opening week with two wins over Northwest Nazarene and one against Fresno Pacific. Identical 4.40 kills per set averages put the Gators' Jessica Haynie and Drew Morris atop the CCAA rankings while Bekah Roth's 1.50 blocks per set and Brianna DeBoer's 5.70 digs per set are also atop their respective lists. SF State will host Holy Names ahead of its nightcap versus the Knights. Trading wins in their previous meetings, the Gators hold a slight 3-1 advantage over ART U historically.

KNOWING NOMA
A four-match trip up to Washington left Sonoma State still in search of its first win of 2021 as Metro State, Western Washington, Central Washington, and Chaminade all recorded victories against the Seawolves. Kiana Richardson's 3.11 points per set and Riley Beyma's 3.36 digs per set have her 10th in the CCAA rankings thus far. SSU is slated to face Dominican and Chico State prior to Academy of Art on Saturday. The Knights and Seawolves have only met twice to date and Sonoma State collected wins in both pairings.

JACKS ARE BACK
ART U's lone weekend opponent who has yet to compete in 2021, Humboldt State comes off a 2019 season in which they went 5-20 overall with one CCAA victory along the way. From that team, the Lumberjacks return their top outside hitter in Lenox Loving who averaged 3.28 kills per set. That season also included a victory for HSU over Academy of Art, furthering the historical matchup in the Jacks' favor 7-3.

ART U STARTS YEAR 2-2 IN NORCAL KICKOFF TOURNEY
Led by three Urban Knights with double-digit kills on both occasions, Academy of Art volleyball began its 2021 fall season in style, defeating Cal State East Bay (Sept. 2) and Chico (Sept. 3) both 3-1 on back-to-back days as part of the NorCal Kickoff Tournament. The outside hitter trio of Katherine Von Kraut, Ashley Mecham, and Isaura Santos accounted for over 70 percent of the team's kills in those victories while junior setter Picabo Reinhold averaged nearly 10 assists per set. ART U's record evened on the final day of the tournament (Sept. 4) as Cal State Monterey Bay and Stanislaus State earned victories over the Knights.

LOOKING AHEAD
PacWest play awaits on the other end of the Gator/Seawolf Classic as Academy of Art heads to Southern California for matchups with Azusa Pacific (Sept. 17) and Point Loma (Sept. 18).