SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Academy of Art volleyball finished off its second tournament of the season, the Seawolves/Penguins Classic, with stellar efforts up and down its roster during a back-and-forth battle with Chico State that the Urban Knights ultimately won 3-2 (25-23, 14-25, 25-20, 25-22, 15-12). Saturday's battle inside Dominican's Conlan Center featured double-doubles from ART U's two graduate student outside hitters Amalie Rupertova and Maya McClellan as well as a career defensive performance from senior libero Isaura Santos.

An early 7-3 lead was established by ART U on the strength of kills by the aforementioned outside hitter tandem as well as sophomore right side Katherine Von Kraut and a solo block by sophomore middle blocker Janaya Delone, but the opening set was tied repeatedly thereafter. That was until six of seven points by Academy of Art elevated them to a 20-15 advantage with junior setter Elly McInerney's back-to-back service aces among the highlights. The Wildcats came with a single point on multiple occasions down the stretch, but freshman setter Ainsley Robare found Rupertova for the final kill to secure the set 25-23.

Chico State came back with a tough attack in the second frame, gaining a 10-5 lead before going up 20-10. The Knights fought with kills by Von Kraut and Delone sandwiching a service ace from sophomore setter Nina Garcia, but the 25-14 set would belong to the designated home team, evening the match.

Though the Wildcats came back against ART U's initial 8-5 margin, Academy of Art executed seven of eight points beginning with kills by Delone and McClellan then ending with Santos' service ace for a 21-16 advantage. Varying their production, the Knights then saw McClellan and Von Kraut connect for kills and Robare deliver her own service ace as the 25-20 third set was awarded to ART U.

The fourth frame had Chico State ahead initially though kills by Rupertova and freshman middle blocker/right side Kaia Fittz keyed a 5-1 run that put Academy of Art in front 16-13. The Wildcats worked their way back to a 20-20 tie then continued to ride that momentum with five of the final six points for a 25-22 result which forced the fifth set.

Facing a 5-1 deficit to start the decisive frame, the Knights proceeded to challenge Chico State with five unanswered including two kills by Rupertova in addition to her combined block alongside Fittz. It became a 9-1 surge as Academy of Art rose ahead 10-6 yet in the blink of an eye it was 10-10 after the Wildcats caught up. A block by Delone and Fittz was followed by Rupertova's 17th kill of the match and ART U would not relinquish its lead the rest of the way. Delone added two more huge block solos, propelling her squad to the gritty 15-12 triumph.

Improving to 1-7 on the year with the victory, Academy of Art was led by Rupertova's second double-double of the season which came in the form of a season-high 17 kills plus 11 digs while McClellan also had her second double-double, tallying 13 kills and a season-best 16 digs. Von Kraut added 10 kills and two block assists, Delone contributed three block solos and one assist, Robare finished with a team-high 19 assists, and Santos posted four digs more than her career-best as an Urban Knight with 25 digs on the day.

The loss puts Chico State at 2-4 overall this season despite the Wildcats' 19 kills from Grace Shepherd and 17 kills from Zoe DiNardo.

ART U's final non-conference match of the year comes this Tuesday, Sept. 6 on the road at Stanislaus State starting at 5 p.m.