TURLOCK, Calif. – Wrapping up the season's first week on a positive note, Academy of Art volleyball picked up a 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 23-25, 26-24) victory over Western New Mexico after sustaining a 3-0 (25-20, 25-10, 25-20) loss at the hands of Western Oregon as part of the Stan State Tournament inside Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena.

MATCH 1 – WOU 3, ART U 0
Though the Urban Knights led the Wolves 10-6 following kills by freshman middle blocker/outside hitter Alohi Garcia and graduate student middle blocker Chandra Reed plus a service ace by sophomore defensive specialist Elyse Day, Western Oregon would rally back to eventually move up 18-15. Academy of Art forced ties at 19-19 and 20-20 thereafter, but five straight points by WOU ended with them in front 25-20.

An 11-3 start to the second frame was slowed by kills from graduate student outside hitter/right side Maya McClellan and Garcia before four and five-point runs by the Wolves resulted in their two-set advantage by way of a 25-10 score. WOU's four-point margin midway through the third was then erased by a 5-1 push that featured multiple kills by Garcia and service aces by junior right side Sofia Stemberga. Three ties ensued yet the last four points all went to the Wolves for a 25-20 final.

Garcia's eight kills paced the Knights, junior setter Elly McInerney added 12 assists, and freshman libero LC-Reece Nakagawa's eight digs were a team high. On the other side, Western Oregon got 11 kills from Madison Hornback plus 10 from Bailee Hartsook before going on to defeat Fresno Pacific and conclude the tournament at 4-0 overall.

MATCH 2 – ART U 3, WNMU 1
Academy of Art went right to work in the second match of the day, building a 6-0 lead out of the gate with kills from Reed and graduate student outside hitter Amalie Rupertova. Three successive spikes from McClellan boosted the advantage to 12-2, but the set was not a runaway as the Mustangs soon rattled off eight straight. The Knights never relinquished the lead, however, as kills by sophomore middle blocker Kaia Fittz and Garcia maintained a cushion to set up five of the last six points going to ART U for the 25-20 result.

Though WNMU was up for much of the early and middle stages of the second set, Academy of Art soon executed two surges that took the Knights from down 19-15 to up 21-19 then 25-20 set victors. Over the 10-1 finish to the frame, Reed joined three different teammates in delivering blocks while McClellan put away four kills.

The teams took turns going on unanswered scoring bursts in the third frame as a 10-5 start for the Mustangs was countered by kills from freshman outside hitter Lola Martin and McClellan during a 4-0 rebuttal then, after another 4-0 push gave ART U a 13-12 advantage, WNMU was soon back up via five consecutive points. Western New Mexico went back in front following a 19-19 tie and managed to fend off Academy of Art just enough for the 25-23 win to stay alive.

Up 7-4 to begin the fourth set, the Knights soon found themselves battling through 13 successive ties in thrilling back-and-forth action. Academy of Art faced the threat of a potential fifth set down 24-22, but McClellan and Rupertova's kills staved off set points before junior setter Lina Ellilä connected on a service ace and Fittz assisted Rupertova for the match-ending kill at 26-24, capping four straight points to triumph.

ART U now carries a 1-3 overall record as the team exits its first week with two more double-doubles coming from McClellan (19 kills, 18 digs), Stan State All-Tournament Team honoree, and Rupertova (14 kills, 19 digs) in the victory. Reed added seven kills plus five blocks in that contest while McInerney and Ellilä split 40 assists nearly evenly. Nakagawa finished with 18 digs for her third time reaching double digits in her first four matches.

After being swept by Chico State earlier in the day, Western New Mexico dropped to 0-4 on the year despite 16 kills from Jazmyne Walker and 29 assists from Letícia Correa.

The second non-conference tournament to begin the season is up next for Academy of Art as the Urban Knights will be in Rohnert Park for the Seawolves Volleyball Classic, challenging Cal State San Bernardino and Cal State Monterey Bay both on Sept. 7 followed by Cal State Dominguez Hills on Sept. 8.