Match #27
ART U Urban Knights (4-22, 3-16 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (1-24, 1-17 PacWest)
Saturday, November 18, 2023 at 2 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

YEAR CONCLUDES WITH SENIOR DAY REMATCH HOSTING PENGUINS
Academy of Art volleyball will celebrate its graduate student pair of outside hitter Amalie Rupertova and outside hitter/right side Maya McClellan when the Urban Knights face off against Dominican in a Pacific West Conference rematch this weekend.

FIRST SERVE
ART U will host Dominican from Kezar Pavilion this Saturday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. with a Fan Bus to depart 620 Sutter at 1:15 p.m. The pre-match ceremony honoring Rupertova and McClellan is slated to begin approximately 20 minutes before the start of the contest. 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
One of just three teams in the PacWest to average over 1.80 service aces per set, Academy of Art (1.84) remains well on pace to break the program record of 1.67 set last year. Nearing the end of their second straight season leading the Urban Knights, graduate student outside hitter/right side Maya McClellan and graduate student outside hitter Amalie Rupertova are still one of just three conference pairs inside the top 10 in both points per set and kills per set as well as the only duo to do so in back-to-back seasons. McClellan ranks fourth in both kills (3.54) and points (4.13) per frame while Rupertova stands 10th in both kills (2.71) and points (3.27) per set. In addition to combining for 24 double-doubles (McClellan 13, Rupertova 11) and representing two of ART U's six student-athletes to average over 3.00 kills per set in a career (McClellan 3.18, Rupertova 3.01), each are among the program's top five in single-season statistical categories with McClellan's 358 kills fifth and Rupertova's 38 service aces fourth (five from setting a new record) as the latter ranks fifth in the PacWest at 0.38 service aces per set.

Often delivering the volleyball to ART U's tandem of McClellan and Rupertova, junior setter Elly McInerney has logged double-digit assists in her last 11 matches (logging 20 or more in over half) and she continues to hold the third position in the conference at 5.72 assists per set. With double-digit digs in 15 of her last 16 matches, freshman libero LC-Reece Nakagawa is still fourth in the PacWest at 3.99 digs per set and her 379 total ranks eighth in Academy of Art single-season history. Coming off a season-high nine-block performance versus Hawaii Pacific, redshirt freshman middle blocker Zoe Arnold leads the team with 1.16 blocks per set, a number that would rank fourth in the PacWest though she has played in 19 sets thus far.

PENGUIN PARTICULARS
Following ART U's Nov. 4 victory over Dominican, both squads traveled to Hawaii where the Penguins were swept by both UH Hilo and No. 18 Chaminade before triumphing over Hawaii Pacific 3-2 for their first win of the season. DUC, who is set to face Fresno Pacific on Nov. 17 prior to rematching Academy of Art, is led offensively by Braenwynne Matthews' 1.91 kills per set while Miekayla Surnip adds the conference's seventh-highest digs per set average (3.48). Through 33 previous meetings including this season, the Urban Knights are ahead of Dominican 17-16.

LAST POINTS OF FIVE-SET REMATCH PUT HPU PAST ART U
The final stop on Academy of Art volleyball's Hawaii roadtrip was a hard-fought one as Hawaii Pacific barely bettered the Urban Knights 3-2 (16-25, 26-24, 15-25, 25-21, 16-14) despite ART U's one-set lead during the Pacific West Conference rematch inside The Shark Tank on Nov. 12.