SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – Academy of Art volleyball was locked in from the service line throughout its first Pacific West Conference matchup with Dominican on Saturday evening inside Conlan Center, recording five aces in two separate sets en route to a 3-1 (25-21, 25-12, 22-25, 25-21) victory over the Penguins. The end result was 15 service aces to tie the program record while graduate student outside hitter Amalie Rupertova and graduate student outside hitter/right side Maya McClellan combined for 27 kills.

As the two sides worked to establish their respective rhythms, the Penguins initiated a brief 12-9 lead from a 9-9 score, but the Urban Knights countered with a pair of McClellan kills starting a 7-2 burst that had them ahead 19-17. Rupertova then delivered two kills and junior setter Elly McInerney her first service ace to craft a five-point advantage which wrapped up at 25-21 on a kill from graduate student middle blocker Chandra Reed.

Up 10-5 on the strength of kills and service aces once again, ART U controlled the second frame as an 8-1 run followed shortly thereafter. Reed and freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Alohi Garcia each had multiple kills during the stretch before McClellan put the finishing touches on a 25-12 victory with her team's final two kills plus another service ace.

No more than three points separated the teams throughout the third set as two different 4-0 surges kept Academy of Art within striking distance of Dominican and subsequently briefly ahead of the Penguins at times. The Knights largest margin came at 20-18 on a solo block by redshirt freshman middle blocker Zoe Arnold and a McClellan kill, but DUC's 5-0 response ultimately was enough for the home team to stay alive via the 25-22 result.

That momentum carried into the fourth frame, taking the form of a 6-2 lead for the Penguins to start and, though ART U repeatedly cut the deficit to a single point, rallied but could not fully close the gap until a 5-0 rally brought the visitors from down 20-18 to ahead 22-20. Fittingly the 15th service ace of the night for Academy of Art, which came from junior setter/defensive specialist Nina Garcia, highlighted the comeback before kills by McClellan and Rupertova effectively sealed the 25-21 win.

The day's result helps ART U improve to 4-19 on the season and 3-13 in conference play. Toward the 15 service aces (which tied the mark achieved versus Saint Martin's on Sept. 3, 2011), three different Knights recorded three aces apiece including the tandem of Rupertova and McClellan who had 14 kills and eight digs as well as 13 kills and seven digs respectively. Reed and Garcia totaled eight kills apiece while McInerney, who offered three service aces for the second consecutive match, finished with 18 assists. Freshman libero LC-Reece Nakagawa amassed a match-high 22 digs, reaching double figures for the 12th time in her last 13 contests.

Dominican drops to 0-22 overall and 0-15 in PacWest action despite nine kills from Ella Heckman, 13 assists from Christina Muller, and 18 digs from Miekayla Surnip.

The Urban Knights will play their final three road matches of the year in Hawaii, opening at UH Hilo on Nov. 9 before rematching Chaminade (Nov. 11) and Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 12).