SAN FRANCISCO – Academy of Art volleyball was firing on all cylinders on Friday evening inside Kezar Pavilion. The Urban Knights met Vanguard for the first time in program history and walked away with the 3-1 (25-21, 23-25, 25-18, 25-20) Pacific West Conference victory after hitting .190 or higher in all four sets, breaking tie scores with clutch 6-0 runs in two sets then fending off a late Lions comeback in the decisive fourth frame.

"Tonight was an example of great on-court communication and team execution," said Head Coach Mike Gomez. "We played to the standard we know we're capable of. We were able to get so many of our hitters involved tonight and each one did an incredible job taking care of the ball and winning their matchups."

As the two sides gained a feel for each's style of play, VU held a 16-15 lead midway through the opening set. ART U's offense would then shift into a higher gear as sophomore outside hitter Paola Divis began six unanswered points with a kill while adding a service ace along the way. Up 21-16 on a kill by freshman outside hitter Kerrigan Habing, the Knights maintained the five-point margin on a graduate student middle blocker/outside hitter Fina Tuinauvai service ace and emphatically closed the 25-21 win with graduate student Chandra Reed blocking alongside Habing.

Though a pair of Divis kills had Academy of Art in front 8-3 to begin the second frame and the home team held an 18-14 advantage thereafter, Vanguard used a 9-3 surge to not only tie things up, but capture a 23-21 lead. Junior right side/middle blocker Katherine Von Kraut sent down a kill as ART U responded by retying the score 23-23, but the Lions managed to get the final two points of what ended as a 25-23 set win, evening the match.

Like the second set, the third again saw the Knights ahead 8-3 though momentum shifted back to VU who precariously clutched a 15-14 advantage later on. Academy of Art would mirror its move in the opening frame with Tuinauvai and graduate student opposite Claire Ricard both swinging for kills to spark a 6-0 burst. The Knights proceeded to transform their five-point lead to an eventual 25-18 victory thanks to more kills from Tuinauvai, Reed, and Habing.

Yet another 6-0 run marked an important change early in the fourth set as senior setter Lina Ellilä delivered multiple service aces en route to her side's 12-6 margin. Academy of Art would never relinquish that advantage the rest of the way though VU got it down to two at 20-18. From that point on, the Knights shut the door on a Lions comeback, scoring five of the last seven points with a block combining Reed and Habing highlighting the stretch that ended at 25-20.

Now 5-11 on the season and back to even at 4-4 in PacWest matchups, ART U bested its opponent in every major statistical category including collectively hitting .212 with Von Kraut and Habing's 13 kills apiece pacing the team. Divis added 10 kills with 12 digs for her second double-double of the year and Ricard offered nine kills. Tuinauvai racked up seven kills plus five block assists, the tandem of senior setter Elly McInerney and Ellilä combined for 44 assists, and sophomore libero LC-Reece Nakagawa totaled a team-high 13 digs.

Vanguard drops to 5-6 overall and 2-5 in conference play though Adeline Galvanoni stood out with 14 kills to just one error, hitting .433 on the evening.

In a quick turnaround to finish its six-match homestand, Academy of Art hosts No. 17 Point Loma inside Kezar Pavilion tomorrow at 2 p.m.