2017 Schedule

SAN FRANCISCO – Helping usher in the 10th year of athletics at Academy of Art University, Urban Knights Volleyball now has its 2017 schedule officially set as announced by head coach Ray Batalon.

"My goal this year with our scheduling was to find more balance," said Batalon. "In years past, we tried to play as many matches as we were allowed in order to gain the experience. However, we could never prepare our bodies well enough. So, this season, we wanted to spread out the number of matches to enable us to have more time to rest and recover. We hope by giving ourselves more time to rest and recover, we will be able to have a stronger finish."

The Knights' 2017 campaign begins Aug. 31 with two consecutive days of matches on the road at Humboldt State. In 2016, the Jacks finished 13-13 with one of those wins a five-setter to start the year.

"Humboldt is always a very competitive match," said Batalon. "Our two most recent matchups with them have gone to five sets. I think by facing a team like Humboldt at their place will create the challenge that we want at the very start of the season, but at the same time, we do not have to play four matches in two days which can be physically demanding that early in the year."

For the second consecutive year, the Division II West Region Volleyball Showcase will be local at SF State and features matchups with Cal Poly Pomona (Sept. 7), Alaska (Sept. 8), Cal State Monterey Bay (Sept. 8), and the host Gators (Sept. 9) across three days. ART U went to five sets twice in the 2016 tournament and holds winning records versus both the Broncos and Nanooks.

"With the West Region Showcase, there are a number of good teams that will help us prepare for the upcoming PacWest regular season," said Batalon. "We are very happy that the showcase will be held locally and we're looking forward to facing those teams from the CCAA and the GNAC."

Academy of Art will be local to start PacWest Conference play with Notre Dame de Namur (Sept. 15) and Dominican (Sept. 16) first up. A combined 22-14 all-time against the Argos and Penguins, ART U has its home opener set for the second of those contests.

The Knights' first out-of-state roadtrip will then be to Hawaii for matches on back-to-back days. A pairing with UH Hilo (Sept. 22) comes first and Hawaii Pacific (Sept. 23) will follow. Academy of Art swept the Vulcans in the teams' only matchup last season.

September is finished off with a two-part homestand as NCAA Division II UC Santa Cruz (Sept. 27) and Fresno Pacific (Sept. 29) will meet ART U at Kezar Pavilion. The Banana Slugs were 10-13 in 2016, but finished the year by winning four of five matches.

One of the toughest roadtrips of the season comes next as the Knights travel to Southern California to take on NCAA Tournament qualifier California Baptist (Oct. 4) then Azusa Pacific (Oct. 5) and Point Loma (Oct. 7).

A rematch with Hawaii Pacific on Oct. 11 then starts a four-match homestand for Academy of Art in which defending PacWest champion Concordia (Oct. 13) will come to town along with Dixie State (Oct. 16) and Biola (Oct. 19). The Eagles went 26-3 last year, the Trailblazers finished tied for third in the conference standings, and Biola faces ART U for the first time in program history as the PacWest's newest member.

"The PacWest will be once again very competitive," said Batalon. "Concordia and Cal Baptist, we're assuming will be the front runners again this year. But like any year, the race will be tight. There were a quite a few teams in the 13-7 record group who are relatively young and will have a number of key returners coming back. When we get into the PacWest portion of our schedule, our plan is that we will be in good physical condition by then. We took time this off season to work with [Head Strength & Conditioning Coach] Jessica Balzano and develop a good plan so we can endure the entire length of the season."

Local rematches follow with a trips across the San Francisco Bay to face Holy Names (Oct. 22) and Dominican (Oct. 28). The Knights will then be at Fresno Pacific on Nov. 3 and return home to challenge NDNU (Nov. 7) and Chaminade (Nov. 9).

Academy of Art's final regular season roadtrip takes them to Utah for a rematch with Dixie State (Nov. 12) before ART U's final homestand. Point Loma (Nov. 17) serves as the penultimate matchup before the Knights host Holy Names for Senior Day on Nov. 18.