Box Score

Photo Gallery (images by Meg Williams & Will Mackie)

San Francisco, CA -- When Thursday's matchup between Academy of Art and the William Jessup Warriors tipped off for the first set, it was like the Urban Knights were the ones who just got off a two-hour bus ride to come play. Unforced errors. Sloppy service. The kind of play that would let a team like William Jessup (1-15) hang around and possibly pull off an upset.

Down 11-9 in that first game, Urban Knights Head Coach Allison Magner called timeout and told them just that. From then on, ART U (3-6) played inspired volleyball that carried through the rest of game one and throughout the match as they swept the Warriors in three sets (25-22, 25-12, 25-19). 

"I wasn't satisfied with the energy level," said Coach Magner. "I said 'Hey, if you've got to fake it 'til you make it, get it done. But it looks like we're going through the motions right now, and we've got to step it up.'"

The Knights did just that in the first set, allowing the Warriors to gain one more point before storming back to tie the game at 12. From then on, Academy of Art either tied or led for the rest of the way. Magner had to call timeout once again as William Jessup made a late push to cut the lead to two, but in the end, the Urban Knights prevailed in the first set 25-22.

ART U jumped out to an 8-4 lead in the second set before William Jessup called a timeout, but the break did not prove as fruitful for the visiting Warriors as it had for the Knights in the opening set. The Warriors got it as close at 9-8, but then Kawai Oleole, who earned a selection to the PacWest Top 10 Honor Roll last week, did what she does best: set the table. Oleole was instrumental in setting up seven big kills and from that 9-8 score Academy of Art went on a 16-4 run, including a 7-0 run to finish the game capped off by a service ace from freshman Brittany Ulmer.

William Jessup wouldn't go away, however, and the errors that put Coach Magner on edge in game one started to creep back in to game three. In a set that featured nine ties, including one as late as 18-18, the Urban Knights felt that they could not afford to give up even a set to the Warriors. The Knights were actually down 16-18 before Leanini Keanini and Camille Board blocked a kill attempt by William Jessup, and then Keanini added a big kill to tie the game. From there Academy of Art didn't look back, closing strong just like they did in the second set on a 9-1 run, capped off again by a kill from Ulmer. 

Keanini, who garnered the first PacWest Top 10 Honor Roll selection for the Urban Knights in 2011, is in the top ten in the conference in kills per set (3.17), digs per set (3.50), and total points per set (3.62). In 2010 as a libero, Keanini was sixth in the PacWest in digs, with 4.54 per set. Her conversion to outside hitter may seem a little unconventional for someone of her defensive prowess, but Coach Magner disagrees. 

"I'd let her play anywhere on the court," said Magner. "That kid is a killer. She's got a serious competitive attitude and she comes with a fight every time. She's a defensive mogul and it all starts with defense. Defense wins games. You can always count on her."


The defense was paramount to victory against William Jessup as the Knights totaled 8 blocks and forced 29 errors. The front line of senior middle blocker Amy Bush, Keanini, and Board seemed to tower over the front line of William Jessup, turning away attacks throughout the match. At points it seemed like the Warriors adjusted to the height of the Knights, shifting tactics and going for more touch over the reach of the blockers, but the back row compensated and made up the slack, setting up kill after kill for the victors. 

In Thursday's matchup, ART U was led by Bush, who had nine kills and six blocks to go with a .291 hitting percentage. Bush, who led the PacWest in hitting percentage a year ago (.352), currently ranks fourth in the PacWest with a .329 mark. Outside hitter Angela Heath added eight kills and a block assist, and Oleole had 31 assists on the day. Keanini was all over he box score, totaling 10 digs, seven kills, three block assists, and an ace just for good measure. 

"Today felt really satisfying," said Magner. "To come home, after two weeks on the road, and to win it in three in front of our home crowd...it felt really good."

Magner will have a chance to make the home crowd feel the same way on Saturday, as the Urban Knights open up PacWest play at home against the Lady Penguins of Dominican, who dropped their Wednesday match with Menlo to drop to 0-7 on the year. The match will be played at Kezar Pavilion, starting at 7:00 PM.