SAN FRANCISCO – Combining its veteran leadership with the development of young talent, Academy of Art volleyball delivered a 2024 campaign that featured a Pacific West Conference series sweep, the conclusion of six collegiate careers, and ultimately an improved win total in the second year under Head Coach Mike Gomez.

"The message to the team has always been focused on progress and growth and our women know just how close we were in so many matches this season," Gomez said. "I think above all, the culture of our program has progressed in the way we want to go about our business, in the way we approach our work and our training, and we learned a lot about who we are as a program this year and where we want to take it."

Starting its season in Fresno, ART U met multiple future PacWest opponents like Fresno Pacific and Jessup in non-conference action during the Sunbird Volleyball Classic spanning Sept. 6 and Sept. 7. Three different Knights, sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Alohi Garcia, graduate student opposite Claire Ricard, and graduate student middle blocker/outside hitter Fina Tuinauvai, led the team in kills through the first three matches of what would be the first of two four-part tournaments to begin the year.

Academy of Art shifted to Western Colorado next for the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic and capped the first day in Gunnison (Sept. 13) with a 3-1 win over Western New Mexico. Junior right side/middle blocker Katherine Von Kraut paced the team as one of three Knights to record double-digit kills while senior setter Elly McInerney distributed 40 assists in the contest. After closing out non-conference play on Sept. 14 with versus the host school and Fort Lewis, ART U had the tandem of Ricard and sophomore libero LC-Reece Nakagawa recognized on the 2024 Mountaineer Volleyball Classic All-Tournament Team for their contributions both offensively and defensively.

The Urban Knights started PacWest play on a strong note, sweeping both UH Hilo and Hawaii Pacific on the road across three days in Hawaii. Versus the Vulcans on Sept. 19, ART U rallied against a two-set deficit with freshman outside hitter Kerrigan Habing's 18 kills bolstering the offense along with Ricard, McInerney, and Nakagawa combining for 11 of the team's 13 service aces (fourth-most in program history). Academy of Art finished its trip to the islands on a 3-0 sweep of the Sharks two days later on Sept. 21 as another diversified attack was turned in and all Knights to play recorded at least one block or one dig in the contest.

ART U next remained in the Bay Area for its next 11 matches which began at Dominican on Sept. 26 and followed with six straight home contests. Academy of Art's first matchup inside Kezar Pavilion saw the Knights take a set from eventual PacWest Regular Season Champion Chaminade (ranked No. 6 at the time) on Sept. 29 then open the month of October with a new kills leader for the fourth consecutive match as sophomore outside hitter Paola Divis' season-high 16 kills came in the Oct. 1 rematch with UH Hilo.

"After reflecting on the season, I know it can be easy to leave feeling disappointed; there certainly were a handful of games and moments where we knew we could have performed better and we were still making just too many mistakes in crucial junctures to win some of those tight matches, but our team always competed tough with every opponent we stepped on the court against," Gomez said. "We saw glimpses of who we know we can be, starting off conference 2-0 in Hawaii, taking the best shot from some of the conference's top teams; the makings are all there."

Winners in two of their next three pairings, ART U first completed a series sweep with a 3-2 victory over HPU led by three Knights with double-digit kills, four logging dig totals in double figures, and freshman libero/defensive specialist Kyriah Trefren delivering a season-best four service aces on Oct. 5. After meeting Concordia on Oct. 9, Academy of Art took down Vanguard 3-1 on Oct. 11 by way of an efficient .212 collective hitting percentage orchestrated by McInerney and senior setter Lina Ellilä's combined 44 assists.

Though the Knights wrapped up their homestand by swiping a set from another nationally-ranked opponent in No. 17 Point Loma on Oct. 12, it was just one road match at Menlo on Oct. 19 before Academy of Art returned to Kezar Pavilion for three more. Late moves by both FPU (Oct. 22) and Jessup (Oct. 24) earned visitor wins ahead of ART U celebrating breast cancer awareness in its "Dig Pink" matchup with the Oaks on Oct. 26.

November brought not only a road contest but also a 3-0 sweep of Biola (Nov. 1) for the Knights who once again hit consistently alongside tough defense led by graduate student middle blocker Chandra Reed's season-best six blocks. The following day on Nov. 2 it was McInerney who led the way by tying the program's second-most service aces in a single match with six during a five-set thriller with Westmont.

Following a trip to Jessup (Nov. 9) for their third match versus the Warriors on the year, the Knights honored their six-member senior class of Ellilä, Ricard, Reed, McInerney, right side Sofia Stemberga, and setter/defensive specialist Nina Garcia prior to a Nov. 13 faceoff with Dominican. From that contest through the last matches of the season, road contests at FPU (Nov. 16), Azusa Pacific (Nov. 22), and Vanguard (Nov. 23), a different ART U hitter paced the team in kills (making seven on the year), further exemplifying the squad's versatility in 2024.

"We graduated a lot of leaders through this class who have done a great job of driving the team culture and giving so much confidence and tools to our young group returning in the spring," Gomez said. "We're certainly going to miss our seniors and they should feel incredibly proud of the legacy and foundation that they are leaving behind."

Working to build upon those many contributions, Academy of Art sets hopeful sights on an upcoming 2025 campaign.

"The spring season is always an exciting time," Gomez said. "We get to be a lot more focused on the individual level and be a lot more hands on with the growth and development of our women both on and off the court. This year was the first time in our program that we had a group of redshirts, so I'm excited to really invest more into those relationships and get to help them progress after sitting out of the regular season. We have a ton of young talent on the team and I look forward to finding ways we can continue to push our program forward and put our team in the best position possible."