AZUSA, Calif. – Great play offensively and defensively up and down the roster had Academy of Art volleyball threatening Azusa Pacific on the Cougars' home floor of Felix Event Center on Thursday evening as ART U took the third set and nearly had the fourth before APU rallied back for the win 3-1 (25-16, 26-24, 18-25, 25-22). The 12 service aces from Academy of Art in the Pacific West Conference contest tied for the second-most in a four-set match in program history.
Oscillating early, the score eventually favored the home team 10-6 despite three kills from graduate student outside hitter
Amalie Rupertova which helped her achieve a new career milestone of 1,000 collegiate kills. A four-point deficit eventually increased as the Cougars executed a 7-2 run on their way to winning the opening set 25-16.
After connecting on five kills in the opening frame, graduate student outside hitter/right side
Maya McClellan added two more along with a pair from freshman middle blocker/outside hitter
Alohi Garcia during their squad's 6-2 start to the second set. The lead repeatedly changed hands thereafter as 10 ties came before a 19-18 APU advantage yet a 4-0 comeback highlighted by freshman outside hitter/right side
Crystal Creek's kill and tandem block alongside graduate student outside hitter
Chandra Reed put ART U in a prime position. Seven of the final nine points were scored on the opposite side, however, earning Azusa Pacific the 26-24 victory.
From a 6-6 knot in the third set, the Urban Knights began a momentum-shifting 8-2 push with Reed and Rupertova combining for a block ahead of back-to-back service aces from Rupertova. The 14-8 margin was short-lived, however, because the Cougars came back to force a 16-16 tie. Academy of Art then proceeded to dominate to the tune of six unanswered points with junior setter
Elly McInerney teeing up both Garcia and Reed for kills, Reed posting a strong solo block, and junior setter/defensive specialist
Nina Garcia adding a service ace. Rupertova closed out the 25-18 result with two kills and her own service ace as ART U began its comeback.
A 6-0 Knights start to the fourth frame included kills by Creek and McClellan as well as two more aces for Rupertova. The separation grew to 16-5 as McInerney aced the Cougars twice to sandwich her own kill. The Knights continued to move toward a decisive fifth set with Garcia sending down two kills before the scoreboard read 21-13 in favor of the visitors. However, seven consecutive points by APU suddenly made it a one-score match and a 5-0 push ended up concluding the contest 25-22 with the Cougars on top.
Academy of Art, now 1-8 overall and 0-2 in PacWest matchups, got double-doubles from both McClellan (17 kills, 13 digs) and Rupertova (11 kills, 14 digs) with the latter tying for second in ART U four-set history with five service aces. The 41 assists for McInerney were a season-high (giving her 20+ in six straight matches) and made up her third double-double of the year with 10 digs in addition to three service aces. Season-high kill totals came from both Garcia (11) and Reed (9), who also had three blocks apiece, while freshman libero
LC-Reece Nakagawa finished with 13 digs plus two service aces. The Knights' 12 service aces not only ranked second among four-set matches in program history but were also tied for ninth most in all matches.
En route to improving to 4-5 on the year and 1-0 in conference play, Azusa Pacific saw Sarah Wilson offer 13 kills, Maggie Nielsen contribute 29 assists, and Hailey Patino end with 12 digs.
Tomorrow will be a travel day for ART U as the Knights prepare to finish their Southern California road trip at Point Loma this Saturday, Sept. 16 at 2 p.m.
