GUNNISON, Colo. – Friday ended on a triumphant note for Academy of Art volleyball as ART U rallied for wins in the final three sets of a 3-1 (15-25, 25-16, 25-21, 25-21) victory over Western New Mexico following a defeat at Texas A&M-Kingsville's hand 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) inside Paul Wright Gym during the Mountaineer Volleyball Classic. Four Urban Knights had nine or more kills in the win as the team collectively demonstrated versatility and efficiency by hitting .268 across the four sets of action.
MATCH #1 – TAMUK 3, ART U 0
Fighting back against the Javelinas' early lead, Academy of Art used service aces from senior setter
Elly McInerney and sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter
Alohi Garcia to close the gap. Just one point separated the teams at 12-11 following a 4-1 run capped by freshman libero/defensive specialist
Kyriah Trefren's ace, but a 9-3 run by TAMUK thereafter helped them secure the 25-18 set victory.
A 7-2 push in the initial stages of the second set had Texas A&M-Kingsville up 14-8 before a six of the next nine points were won by ART U to short the lead to just three. Graduate student middle blocker/outside hitter
Fina Tuinauvai co-authored back-to-back blocks before
Alohi Garcia connected on a pair of kills in the stretch. The Javelinas, however, made a final surge to win 25-18.
Though Academy of Art was in front 5-2 to start the third set, TAMUK scored seven unanswered points to gain a lead they would not relinquish. Scores were exchanged briefly before another burst by Texas A&M-Kingsville that ultimately ended the match 25-16 with them on top.
MATCH #2 – ART U 3, WNMU 1
The Broncos commanded the opening stanza with a 9-1 start, but multiple kills by graduate student opposite
Claire Ricard combined with other contributions for a 4-0 run that brought Academy of Art within four at 16-12. Continuing to connect on an impressive level, Western New Mexico won the set 25-15 after hitting .583 with 15 kills to one error despite ART U countering with its best clip of the season at .346.
As WNMU came back down to earth in the second frame, the Knights broke a 13-13 tie with a 9-2 surge that included five straight. Down the stretch, Academy of Art had three different competitors, junior right side/middle blocker
Katherine Von Kraut, sophomore outside hitter
Paola Divis, and Ricard, send down kills for the match-evening 25-16 set victory.
Both sides executed brief runs in a crucial third frame until ART U went from down 15-14 to up 20-17 with Divis slamming down two kills. The ending sequence featured five out of eight points for the Knights as freshman outside hitter
Kerrigan Habing's kill helped keep the pressure on toward a 25-21 result for the Knights.
In a bit of déjà vu from the previous set, Habing delivered another kill to finish an early 4-0 Academy of Art push and Divis had back-to-back put-aways toward a 13-7 advantage. After trading points and short bursts, ART U was ahead 22-19 in the late stages and got key kills from Von Kraut and Habing to finalize the 25-21 set and the match.
Academy of Art, now 1-5 overall in 2024, started the day with eight kills from
Alohi Garcia plus seven from Ricard while McInerney added 13 assists versus WTAMUK. Hours later it was Von Kraut's season-high 12 kills (.400) and three blocks that led the way, followed closely by Ricard's 11 kills (.400), Habing's 10 kills, and Divis' nine kills (with 13 digs) for three more season-best performances. McInerney posted 40 assists and sophomore libero
LC-Reece Nakagawa provided 15 digs. Hitting .268 against WNMU, the Urban Knights achieved their highest hitting percentage in a four-set match since Oct. 2, 2021.
Texas A&M-Kingsville, paced by nine kills apiece from Ayanna Jackson and Meghan Stiefer, moved to 4-2 with the win while Western New Mexico dropped to 2-3 despite 10 kills from Jazmyne Walker.
ART U returns to Paul Wright Gym tomorrow for matchups with tournament host Western Colorado and Fort Lewis once again at 9 a.m. MT (8 a.m. PT) and 1 p.m. MT (noon PT).
