HONOLULU – Academy of Art volleyball remained undefeated through its first two Pacific West Conference matches on Saturday as the Urban Knights propelled themselves past Hawaii Pacific for a 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-23) result inside The Shark Tank.

"This was another great team victory and it's an awesome feeling starting conference play off 2-0," said Head Coach Mike Gomez. "Elly [McInerney] did a great job leading the offense and distributing the ball to all parts of our attack and that kept us very balanced."

Breaking a 4-4 tie early on, HPU went on a 9-2 run, but ART U responded with kills from graduate student middle blocker/outside hitter Fina Tuinauvai, graduate student opposite Claire Ricard, and junior right side/middle blocker Katherine Von Kraut leading the charge. Ultimately the score would settle at 17-17 on sophomore outside hitter Paola Divis' service ace and retie four more times until 24-24. With every point crucial, the Knights got kills from freshman outside hitter Kerrigan Habing and graduate student middle blocker Chandra Reed en route to the 26-24 triumph.

The Sharks jumped out to a 7-3 advantage starting the second frame, but multiple spikes by Habing soon had the score knotted at 8-8. Separation was not gained until sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Alohi Garcia and Tuinauvai sent down kills along with sophomore libero LC-Reece Nakagawa's service ace made it 15-12. Seven unanswered points ensued with all four of senior setter/defensive specialist Nina Garcia's service aces fueling the run. Habing offered a kill to put the finishing touches on a 25-17 final, giving the Knights two sets of momentum.

Exchanging 5-0 bursts, the sides were tied at 11-11 to begin the third and, though a solo block by senior setter Elly McInerney highlighted the 6-2 surge thereafter, Hawaii Pacific countered with five straight points. From a 22-22 deadlock, however, ART U made its final move with Habing connecting on yet another kill for the set and match victory on the 25-23 result.

Academy of Art returns from Hawaii now a perfect 2-0 in PacWest play and 3-7 overall. Habing's 10 kills led the way while both Tuinauvai and Alohi Garcia added eight apiece. McInerney provided 30 assists, Von Kraut had four blocks (one solo, three assisted), Nakagawa finished with 11 digs plus three service aces, and freshman libero/defensive specialist Kyriah Trefren contributed nine digs. Meanwhile, Nina Garcia's four service aces tied for the seventh-most in a three-set match in program history.

"Tonight was our most cohesive defensive performance," Gomez said. "Our backcourt showed a ton of grit and scrap to keep rallies alive. Just a really fun brand of volleyball to watch."

Still in search of their first win of the season, Hawaii Pacific drops to 0-8, 0-2 despite Ella Schoene's eight kills.

Back on the mainland and in the Bay Area for its next 11 matches, ART U will play its final road contest of September on Sept. 26 at Dominican with a 5 p.m. first serve.