SAN RAFAEL, Calif. – The NorCal Kickoff Tournament finished with Academy of Art volleyball dropping a pair of matches on Saturday inside Dominican's Conlan Center. In the day's opening contest, the Urban Knights fell to Cal State Monterey Bay 3-1 (25-22, 17-25, 25-16, 25-22). ART U then established a 2-1 lead over Stanislaus State, but the Warriors  rallied late for the 3-2 (26-24, 23-25, 17-25, 25-18, 15-6) victory in the tourney finale.

MATCH 1 – CSUMB 3, ART U 1
An 11-2 run put the Otters in front 15-5 in the early going, but the Knights came back to shorten the gap to two at 24-22. Freshman outside hitter Katherine Von Kraut, senior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery, and junior outside hitter Isaura Santos, and junior middle blocker Jillian Wheaton each put down kills during that comeback, but CSUMB scored the final point it needed for a 25-22 final score.

In the second set, it was Academy of Art who pulled away in the initial stages, using a 10-3 surge to separate. Kills by Emery, Santos, freshman outside hitter Ashley Mecham, and Von Kraut highlighted the run and the Knights maintained their margin of five points or greater en route to 25-17 set victory, evening the match at 1-1.

From a 4-4 tie, Cal State Monterey Bay pushed ahead with a 6-2 run and that difference would hold the rest of the way in the third frame. Mecham and Von Kraut each led all competitors with four kills apiece in the set, but it was CSUMB who finished on top 25-16.

ART U battled back against an initial Otters lead to knot up the fourth frame at 12-12 on back-to-back kills from Emery and Santos. The fourth tie thereafter had the teams at 22-22 before CSUMB scored the final three points to secure the set 25-22 and the match 3-1.

The Urban Knights were led by 14 kills apiece from Von Kraut and Mecham, Reinhold collected 43 assists, and freshman libero Elena Torres finished with a season-high 15 digs. Double-doubles came from both Mecham (14 kills, 10 digs) and Santos (10 kills, 12 digs).

MATCH 2 – STAN 3, ART U 2
Both sides exchanged runs and leads in the opening set with Santos recording two kills and a service ace during the Knights' 6-1 push, but Stanislaus State moved back in front with its own 6-1 response. Facing set point at 24-21, Academy of Art hung tough with three straight points on a block by Wheaton and Von Kraut then kills from Santos and Von Kraut yet the Warriors capitalized thereafter for a 26-24 result.

Redshirt junior outside hitter Celena Davison put down a trio of kills to help ART U tie the second set 13-13 after an initial deficit. In the later stages, the Knights found themselves down 22-19, but Von Kraut unloaded three kills of her own amid a 6-1 surge to end the frame with Academy of Art on top 25-23.

That momentum carried into the third set as Davison continued to connect as ART U jumped out to an 11-7 lead to start. That margin was later extended to 18-12 by way of the Knights' five unanswered points including two kills from Mecham. The teams exchanged points the rest of the way and ultimately Von Kraut had the exclamation mark on a 25-17 win to put her squad up 2-1.

A 5-0 push came from Academy of Art soon into the fourth frame, but the tide shifted dramatically as Stanislaus State went from down three points to up five on a 7-0 run. Freshman setter Nina Garcia's service ace would bring ART U to within three at 21-18, but the Warriors forced a fifth set with their 25-18 victory.

Though the Knights had the first point of the final frame, Stanislaus State scored the next six consecutive points before kills by Von Kraut and Davison kept their side within striking distance. An unfortunate 5-0 run ensued, however, eventually resulting in the Warriors' 15-6 triumph in the end.

With its first weekend tournament complete, Academy of Art sits at 2-2 overall. The 17 kills for Von Kraut were a career-high and Davison's 12 kills were the second-highest of her career. Season-highs also came in the form of Mecham's 16 digs, which paired with her 10 digs for her third double-double of the season, and Reinhold's 47 assists and 11 digs.

The Urban Knights will split action across two locations in the SF State and Sonoma State Gator/Seawolf Classic next weekend beginning with a rematch against Cal State Monterey Bay and first meeting with SF State both on Sept. 10.