SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Even with Dominican through the first two sets, Academy of Art finished strong, collectively hitting .400 in the final set of a 3-1 (25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23) victory over the Penguins inside Conlan Center on Monday evening. ART U was led by a match-high 20 kills from graduate student outside hitter Amalie Rupertova while graduate student outside hitter Maya McClellan added her eighth double-double of the season with 16 kills and 12 digs.

McClellan could be found doing a little bit of everything early as she teamed with freshman middle blocker/right side Kaia Fittz for a rejection then recorded her first kill as the Urban Knights started ahead 4-2. Academy of Art soon battled back from a 6-5 deficit to go up 9-6 on a kill from Rupertova, a block by sophomore right side Katherine Von Kraut, and a service ace delivered by freshman setter Ainsley Robare. ART U then rattled off another four straight points to move in front 15-11 and, though the Penguins would work their way back to a 22-21 score, Von Kraut sparked a final push that ended with the Knights winning 25-21.

A 7-2 start by Dominican in the second set proved to be significant as steady offense by the home team kept them in front for the frame's duration. Four straight kills by Rupertova helped bring Academy of Art to within three at 21-18, but the visitors would come no closer as the match evened on a 25-20 result.

Up 3-0 to open the third set, ART U would double that margin at 6-3 on sophomore libero Nina Garcia's service ace. The Penguins responded with a 7-2 run soon after, but the Knights rebutted with five of six points, including a pair of McClellan kills, to take a 16-14 lead. Five ties later, Academy of Art used a kill by senior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton, a service ace by senior outside hitter Isaura Santos, and a DU attack error to secure the 2-1 set advantage by way of a 25-22 final.

McClellan and Rupertova continued to swing in tandem, combining for six kills as ART U jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the fourth frame. Dominican would come back to tie things up and assume brief leads, but the momentum permanently shifted when the Knights went from down two to up three on a 5-0 surge sparked by back-to-back kills from Rupertova. The Penguins managed to shorten the gap to a single point on multiple occasions thereafter, but Rupertova fittingly ended the night on a kill for the 25-23 triumph when Academy of Art needed it most.

ART U elevates to 5-18 overall and 4-10 in conference action with Rupertova's third time notching 20 kills or more coming Monday. McClellan's aforementioned double-double, her second straight effort, was paired with two block solos and one block assist while Von Kraut added 11 kills (hitting .391) with a pair of block solos as well. Junior setter Elly McInerney finished with 45 assists and eight digs, Santos added four service aces, and Garcia contributed three service aces plus eight digs.

Dominican remains in search of its first win of the season now at 0-23 overall and 0-15 in PacWest play. Three Penguins did register double-digit kills led by Avery Schneider, but DU was bettered by the Urban Knights in every statistical category.

Versus Fresno Pacific next, Academy of Art returns home to Walter Gleason Gym at 2 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 29 for its "Dig Pink" game to honor breast cancer awareness.