Match #10
ART U Urban Knights (3-7, 2-0 PacWest) vs. Dominican Penguins (2-6, 1-1 PacWest)
Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024 at 5 p.m.
San Rafael, Calif. – Conlan Center
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #11
ART U Urban Knights (3-7, 2-0 PacWest) vs. No. 6 Chaminade Silverswords (9-3, 2-0 PacWest)
Sunday, Sept. 29, 2024 at 1 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

Match #12
ART U Urban Knights (3-7, 2-0 PacWest) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (6-6, 1-1 PacWest)
Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024 at 6:30 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats | Live Video

BAY AREA BATTLES BEGIN AS ACADEMY OF ART LOOKS TO STAY UNDEFEATED
Back from Hawaii sporting a 2-0 Pacific West Conference record, Academy of Art volleyball seeks to continue building momentum with a lengthy stay in the Bay Area that starts at Dominican this Thursday before home matches against No. 6 Chaminade and UH Hilo soon after.

FIRST SERVE
Wrapping up its 11 consecutive road matches to start the season, ART U faces Dominican on Sept. 26 at 5 p.m. inside Conlan Center in San Rafael. Three days later on Sept. 29, it will be the Knights and Silverswords paired up at 1 p.m. then a rematch with UH Hilo on Oct. 2 at 6:30 p.m. both inside Kezar Pavilion. 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
Balanced offense has allowed three members of Academy of Art, sophomore middle blocker/outside hitter Alohi Garcia (2.59), graduate student opposite Claire Ricard (2.38), and freshman outside hitter Kerrigan Habing (2.21), to average over 2.20 kills apiece. A centerpiece of the offense has been senior setter Elly McInerney who holds the conference's fourth-highest assists per set average at 8.24, setting season-highs across the board with 46 assists, 13 digs, four service aces, and three kills all in the win over UH Hilo on Sept. 19. At 3.62 digs per set, sophomore libero LC-Reece Nakagawa sits eighth in the PacWest while her 0.41 service aces per set are tied for ninth overall. Each with seven blocks apiece in the last two victories, graduate student middle blocker/outside hitter Fina Tuinauvai (0.68) and sophomore right side/middle blocker Katherine Von Kraut (0.65) have both improved their blocks per set averages.

PENGUIN PARTICULARS
Though Dominican opened the 2024 season with a win over Jessup, the Penguins have since gone 1-6, besting Hawaii Pacific while falling to Chaminade in Hawaii to start PacWest play. Elevated by a 24-kill performance versus HPU, Reagan Macha paces Dominican at 3.67 kills per set (fourth in PacWest) while Rein Bocage shares that same spot in the conference in digs per set (4.57) in addition to holding the fifth-highest service aces per set average (0.50). Over a storied history that has seen the teams meet more times than any other ART U opponent, Academy of Art is up 18-16 on Dominican.

CHAMINADE CHARGING
Chaminade holds a No. 6 national ranking coming into this weekend's matchup with the Urban Knights and it has come on the strength of a 9-3 overall record (including two PacWest victories most recently). In San Bernardino, the Silverswords matched up with four ranked teams and took down No. 1 Cal State LA as well as No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino while dropping matchups with No. 21 Cal Poly Pomona and No. 10 St. Cloud State. Chaminade would add wins over No. 2 Wayne State and No. 3 MSU Denver before sweeping both Menlo and Dominican to start conference action. First in the PacWest in hitting percentage (.254) and kills per set (14.48), the Silversword offense features the conference leader in hitting percentage, Anna Stucchi (.452), as well as Letizia Cammillucci, who can be found fifth in kills per set (3.33). CUH has had the upper hand more recently versus ART U, now in front 17-8 in the historical matchup.

VULCANS VISITING
The first opponent Academy of Art will rematch this season, UH Hilo bounced back from its 3-2 loss to the Knights on Sept. 19 with a sweep of Menlo two days later. Away from the Hawaiian Islands for just the second time this season, the Vulcans begin a four-part conference road trip at Dominican this Sunday ahead of their pairing with ART U on Tuesday. UH Hilo is still led by Samara Cruz (2.86) and Taylor Tullo (2.71) in terms of kills per set with Kamryn Childs' .291 hitting percentage just inside the PacWest's top 10 and Tani Hoke ranked fifth at 4.50 digs per set. Despite the victory for Academy of Art, the Vulcans remain in front 18-6 all-time.

VOLLEYBALL SWEEPS HAWAII TRIP BY BLANKING SHARKS 3-0
Academy of Art volleyball remained undefeated through its first two Pacific West Conference matches on Sept. 21 as the Urban Knights propelled themselves past Hawaii Pacific for a 3-0 (26-24, 25-17, 25-23) result inside The Shark Tank.

LOOKING AHEAD
Following the completion of its first two home matches of the year, ART U will remain inside Kezar Pavilion for its next four starting with Hawaii Pacific on Oct. 5.