Match #19
ART U Urban Knights (0-18, 0-10 PWC) vs. NDNU Argonauts (3-13, 2-6 PWC)
Monday, October 8, 2018 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #20
ART U Urban Knights (0-18, 0-10 PWC) vs. Azusa Pacific Cougars (13-5, 9-1 PWC)
Friday, October 12, 2018 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #21
ART U Urban Knights (0-18, 0-10 PWC) vs. Point Loma Sea Lions (9-7, 6-3 PWC)
Saturday, October 13, 2018 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

KNIGHTS BEGIN BAY AREA-HEAVY OCTOBER
Back from Hawaii, Academy of Art volleyball looks at quite a bit of home-cooking on the horizon as the Urban Knights are set to play seven of their next eight matches in San Francisco. The homestand begins with three Pacific West Conference rematches as Notre Dame de Namur, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma all come to Kezar Pavilion this week.

FIRST SERVE
Home for an extended stretch following their Hawaii roadtrip, ART U opens by hosting NDNU this Monday, Oct. 8 and APU this Friday, Oct. 12 both at 7 p.m. The Knights will then get a rematch with PLNU on Saturday, Oct. 13 at 1 p.m. with all matches being played inside Kezar Pavilion. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Named PacWest Freshman of the Week for the second straight installment, middle blocker Jillian Wheaton comes off a Hawaii roadtrip that started with her hitting .536 and averaging 11 kills per match in the first two contests. She currently ranks seventh in the conference with a .333 hitting percentage while posting an average of 1.88 kills per set. After registering double-digit kills in six of her last eight matches, sophomore outside hitter Ashley Pawlak continues to lead Academy of Art with 2.22 kills and 3.07 digs per set (3.19) while remaining now 10 service aces (46) shy of the program's top 10 career list. Freshman setter Picabo Reinhold finds herself still fourth in the PacWest in assists per set (7.03), posting 40 or more in three of her last five contests. Fifth in program history with 63 service aces in her career, redshirt libero Lyndsay Mlynar has also risen to fourth in career digs (903) after reaching double digits in four of her last five matches. Redshirt senior middle blocker Safua Elisaia needs just one more block assist to set the program's career record and she remains 18 total blocks from besting former teammate Margaret Winkler for the Urban Knights' career record.

ARGOS AGAIN
Since defeating ART U in a five-set thriller back on Sept. 21 in Belmont, Notre Dame de Namur has taken three losses to Dominican, Azusa Pacific, and Point Loma with single sets won against the Penguins and Cougars. The Argonauts are slated to face Holy Names on Saturday, Oct. 6 prior to making the brief trip to San Francisco to face the Knights on Monday. Jack Rowan continues to lead NDNU with 2.92 kills per set (sixth in PacWest) while Emma Kleven ranks third in the conference in assists per set (7.51). The result earlier this year brought the Argos slightly closer to a .500 record against ART U as the Knights have now won 12 of 22 meetings all-time.

COUGAR COLLISION COURSE
A dominant force in the PacWest Conference and receiving votes in the latest AVCA national poll, Azusa Pacific's sweep of Academy of Art on Sept. 8 came as part of their nine-match win streak in which the Cougars only dropped two sets. Most recently, however, APU found itself taking just its first conference loss when Biola managed to outlast the Cougars 3-2 on Oct. 3. Azusa Pacific is set to host Fresno Pacific on Oct. 5 before traveling to the Bay Area to play ART U (Oct. 12) and Holy Names (Oct. 13). APU leads the PacWest and is 20th in NCAA Division II in blocks per set (2.31) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.257), assists (12.58), and kills (13.4) per set. Possibly the Cougars' biggest threat is Julianne Miller who averages 1.06 blocks per set (fourth in PacWest) while hitting .394 (second in PacWest). The win earlier this season put Azusa Pacific in front of Academy of Art 5-3 in its historical matchup.

ON POINT
After besting Academy of Art in San Diego on Sept. 7 to start PacWest play, Point Loma swept HNU, Biola, and NDNU, was swept by APU and UH Hilo, and defeated Hawaii Pacific as well as Dominican while falling to Chaminade, The Sea Lions are scheduled to take on Concordia, Fresno Pacific, and HNU before finishing next week at ART U. Rachael Schlect has emerged as one of PLNU's top offensive producers with 3.48 kills per set (third in PacWest) while Cara Keturakis paces the conference with 9.48 assists per set. Moving into the rematch, Point Loma holds a 7-1 all-time record versus the Knights.

LOOKING AHEAD
Remaining in the Bay Area until the final month of the season, Academy of Art makes the short trip to Dominican for an Oct. 17 meeting with the Penguins then hosts Chaminade (Oct. 20) and UH Hilo (Oct. 21) in back-to-back rematches.