ART U Urban Knights (11-13, 6-10 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (2-21, 2-15 PWC)
Thursday, November 6, 2014 at 7:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video | Live Audio

Match #26
ART U Urban Knights (11-13, 6-10 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (17-7, 11-4 PWC)
Saturday, November 8, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Fresno, CA – Special Events Center
Live Stats & Video

ART U HOSTS HOLY NAMES IN FINAL HOME GAME, HITS ROAD
Returning from 13 hard-fought sets played in Hawaii, the Urban Knights now embark upon their final home game of the 2014 season this Thursday with a Holy Names rematch on tap. The evening will be a significant one as seniors Brittany Ulmer and Kanoe Irvine will be honored prior. Academy of Art then starts a three-game road swing to close the year with a trip to Fresno Pacific on Saturday.

OPENING SERVE
ART U's penultimate week begins with 'Senior Knight' hosting Holy Names on Thursday, Nov. 6 at 7:30 PM inside Kezar Pavilion. A special ceremony honoring seniors Brittany Ulmer and Kanoe Irvine will take place prior to first serve and the evening also features "Veterans Appreciation Day" and "Sketch Knight" (see flyers to right) - Sign up for the free FAN BUS here! On Saturday, Nov. 8, Academy of Art heads to Fresno Pacific's Special Events Center for a 7:00 PM rematch. Live coverage will be available via the link above with a special audio broadcast with Tim Swartz via Urban Knights Radio on air.  Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
After Hawaii, ART U now ranks third in the PacWest in service aces (1.54 SA/set) and fourth in digs (16.30 DG/set). Sophomore Melissa Brum has registered double digit kills in each of her 23 matches played this season to make her a Top 10 hitting threat in the entire NCAA Division II. She is seventh in the country in kills per set (4.41) and ninth in points (4.80) – two categories she can be found as #2 in the PacWest. Additionally, Brum has 17 double-doubles which is second behind Dan Yang's single-season record of 21. Her 384 kills thus far in 2014 still have her at fourth-most in the program's single-season history, but she is just beyond a top three owned by Dan Yang (518, 399, 396).

At 38th in the country in assists per set (10.47), junior Rachael Smith holds the third spot in the PacWest and passed her freshman year mark (915) with now 942 assists on the year. Her single-season career-best is 1,137 which is second on the program's all-time list.

Seniors Kanoe Irvine and Brittany Ulmer this year became the program's #1 and #2 in career service aces and, at Hawaii Pacific, Irvine became ART U's single-season record holder with her 38th ace of the year. In the PacWest's total service aces category, Irvine is second (38), sophomore Emily Papale is fourth (32), and Ulmer is fifth (30). Irvine, also the program's career digs leader this season, is also eighth in the conference in digs per set (4.22). Papale turned in her ninth double-double of the year with a 17-kill, 26-dig performance in the win at Chaminade.

HOSTING HOLY NAMES
When the Urban Knights and Hawks faced one another back on Oct. 17, ART U's 3-0 victory became part of what would be an eight-match losing streak for Holy Names. Brum had 21 kills and Papale added a double-double in the form of 14 kills and 14 digs in that contest while Irvine finished with a match-high 20 digs. Since that matchup, HNU fell to Hawaii Pacific, BYU-Hawaii, UH Hilo, but most recently topped Dominican 3-2 on Nov. 1. The Hawks have Notre Dame de Namur coming up on Nov. 5 prior to their trip to Kezar Pavilion and then rematch with NDNU to finish the season next week. At 2-15 in PacWest play this season, Holy Names is 12th in the conference standings ahead of the Argos. The Hawks are led by Kaylyn Lackey's 2.3 points per set which come with 2.03 kills per set. Defensively, HNU carries the libero with the third-most digs per set in the PacWest (4.69) in Katie Lopez. The Urban Knights are 9-3 all-time against Holy Names.

HERE COMES THE SUN…BIRDS
Back on Oct. 15, Academy of Art sustained a tough 3-1 loss to Fresno Pacific and the Sunbirds have had just one blemish since then. A 10-match PacWest winning streak was just recently broken up by Point Loma when the Sea Lions topped FPU 3-1 on Nov. 1. Since facing ART U, the Sunbirds had swept their Hawaii roadtrip, adding a 3-2 victory over nationally ranked BYU-Hawaii for the Seasiders' first home loss in four years. Fresno Pacific is scheduled to face Dominican on Nov. 6 prior to hosting the Knights. FPU is led by the offensive combination of Rupia Inck (4.44 points per set) and Kathleen Anderson (4.05) who both average over 3.10 kills per set. Solid on the defensive end, the Sunbirds boast the PacWest's top libero in terms of digs per set (5.63) with Hannah Butler. Fresno Pacific is currently fourth in the PacWest standings at 11-4 in conference play. The previous victory for FPU gave the Sunbirds a 5-0 lead in the historical matchup with ART U.

KNIGHTS PLAY 13 SETS IN HAWAII WITH PAIR OF FIVE-SETTERS
On the Hawaiian Islands for three matches in three days, ART U took two of its three opponents the full distance this past week. The trip began with the Knights' first time facing Chaminade this year on Oct. 30 and, after Academy of Art pulled out a 31-29 first set victory, it seemed to be a sign of what was to come. Though ART U won the second set 25-18, the Silverswords fought back to take 28-26 and 29-27 wins in the next two, forcing a decisive fifth set. Despite it being midnight Pacific Time by that point, the Urban Knights dug deep and executed a 15-7 triumph for the match. Brum (21 kills, 12 digs) as well as Papale (17 kills, 26 digs) led the way.

One night later on Oct. 31, it was a similar story as Hawaii Pacific won the opening set 25-18 only to fall 25-21 to ART U in the second. The Sharks went back up on a 25-13 third set victory, but a resilient Knights squad took set four 27-25. Once again in the fifth set, Academy of Art could not hold on and dropped a 15-8 score to HPU. The trip's finale on Nov. 1 had the Knights in Laie up against #5 BYU-Hawaii and, while ART U remained competitive, the Seasiders pushed across a 3-0 victory by way of 25-13, 25-21, 25-16 set scores. Sophomore Kabrina Speakman had a career-high of nine kills and freshman Bailey Soolsma added her season-best of five kills in her first career start.

LOOKING AHEAD
Though the Knights will be finished with home matches this year after Thursday, they still have three more contests left on the road at Fresno Pacific (Nov. 8), Dominican (Nov. 13), and NDNU (Nov. 15) down the stretch.