Match #15
ART U Urban Knights (3-11, 2-3 PacWest) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (5-4, 4-1 PacWest)
Saturday, September 24, 2022 at 2 p.m.
Fresno, Calif. – Special Events Center
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #16
ART U Urban Knights (3-11, 2-3 PacWest) vs. Holy Names Hawks (5-7, 0-4 PacWest)
Monday, September 26, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #17
ART U Urban Knights (3-11, 2-3 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (0-11, 0-4 PacWest)
Wednesday, September 29, 2022 at 6:30 p.m.
Belmont, Calif. – Walter Gleason Gym
Live Stats & Live Video

VICTORIOUS MOMENTUM CARRYING INTO UPCOMING NORCAL MATCHUPS
Academy of Art volleyball closed out its Hawaii roadtrip with a pair of hard-fought 3-2 wins over Hawaii Pacific (Sept. 17) and UH Hilo (Sept. 19), bringing the Urban Knights now to their first pairings with fellow Pacific West Conference Northern California rivals Fresno Pacific, Holy Names, and Dominican over the next week.

FIRST SERVE
ART U's weekend matchup takes them to Fresno Pacific's Special Events Center for a 2 p.m. first serve this Saturday, Sept. 24. A four-part homestand then opens with Academy of Art hosting Holy Names on Monday, Sept. 26 before welcoming in Dominican on Thursday, Sept. 29. The two home matches are both set to start at 6:30 p.m. inside Walter Gleason Gym in Belmont. 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
After totaling 73 or more digs and 10 or more service aces in their previous two victories, Academy of Art comes into this weekend ranking fourth in the PacWest in service aces (1.66) and fifth in digs (14.57) per set. Graduate student outside hitters Amalie Rupertova and Maya McClellan were both major contributors in each of the recent five-set wins with the former posting season-highs across the board, delivering 24 kills, 29 digs, and five service aces on Sept. 19. Versus Hawaii Pacific on Sept. 17, McClellan tied the program single-match record with seven service aces plus a season-best 20 digs. The dynamic duo of Rupertova (3.49) and McClellan (3.16) are one of three inside the conference's top 10 point-scorers per set as both are connecting for 3.09 and 2.77 kills per set respectively thus far in 2022.

Another tandem has emerged for ART U as junior setter Elly McInerney has 26 or more assists in three of her last three matches while freshman setter Ainsley Robare has posted 24 or more assists in that recent trio of contests. Defensively, senior libero Isaura Santos has moved up to third in the PacWest in digs per set (4.13) after amassing double-digit totals in each of her last seven times out. Senior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton finds herself as the Knights' leader in blocks per set (0.60) while now ranking top five in all program career block stat categories including 222 total blocks (fifth), 189 block assists (fifth), and 33 block solos (third).

HERE COMES THE SUN
After losing their first three matches of the season, Fresno Pacific has gone on quite a run, winning five of its last six matches which included sweeps of Chico State, Holy Names, and Hawaii Pacific all prior to a 3-0 loss to Chaminade most recently. Ranked first in the PacWest in digs per set (16.79) and second in blocks per set (2.36), the Sunbirds are naturally led by the defensive efforts of Chloe Melis (1.21 blocks per set) and Madison Girnius (0.96 blocks per set) both inside the conference's top five in blocks as well as Corinne Acosta (3.79 digs per set) who is seventh in the PacWest in digs. A split series last season has FPU's all-time matchup with the Knights favoring the former 17-3.

KNOWING THE NAMES
After a hot 4-0 start to the season in a tournament in New Mexico, Holy Names has gone 1-8 in its last nine matches and the Hawks are still searching for their first conference victory after facing FPU, Concordia, Biola, and Azusa Pacific thus far. HNU, who will match up with Dominican on Sept. 23 prior to Academy of Art next week, finds themselves ranked in the middle of the conference in most stat categories with their 15.43 digs per set average the highest in fourth overall. Saupuni Mavaega checks in at third in the PacWest in blocks per set (1.04) as well as seventh in hitting percentage (.274) to highlight Holy Names' squad. Though HNU has won three of the last four meetings, Academy of Art is on top 19-8 historically.

PENGUIN POINTERS
Winless through its first 11 matches, Dominican has yet to win a set in 2022 and has dropped matchups to Concordia, Point Loma, Azusa Pacific, and Biola thus far. The Penguins meet Holy Names on Sept. 23 then have five days off from competition before the match with ART U. Offensively, Dominican has relied upon Ella Hackman's 1.58 kills per set while Vanna Marquez has added 3.48 digs per set (ninth in PacWest). A relatively even 30 previous matches against ART U sees Dominican slightly ahead 16-14 though the Knights won both contests in 2021.

ART U FIGHTS THROUGH 45 TIES IN 3-2 TRIUMPH OVER UH HILO
Drama seemed to build with every point on Sept. 20 as Academy of Art volleyball found itself consistently going back and forth with UH Hilo inside Vulcan Gymnasium. After tying no fewer than 10 times in each of the first three sets, the Urban Knights proceeded to finish off their highest kill (64) and assist (61) totals of the season, besting the Vulcans 3-2 (25-20, 22-25, 25-23, 23-25, 15-11) to finish a three-part Hawaii roadtrip. Graduate student outside hitter Amalie Rupertova's 24 kills and 29 digs (both season-highs) led the way while graduate student outside hitter Maya McClellan added her own double-double with 20 kills and 16 digs.

LOOKING AHEAD
Competing at home through the first week of October, ART U will host Azusa Pacific (Oct. 5) then Biola (Oct. 8) to finish its upcoming homestand.