Box Score

San Mateo, CA -- It was a hard fought battle between No. 2 Dixie State College and No. 7 Academy of Art University, which ended in a fifth and final set.  The Urban Knights left everything they had on the court tonight at the College of San Mateo Gymnasium in their final match of the season against the Dixie State Red Storm.  AAU took the first two sets (25-23, 30-28), but the Red Storm took the next three sets (25-15, 25-20, 15-12) for the win. For the Urban Knights Dan "Phooey" Yang topped all competitors with a season high 26 kills and 25 digs. Jelena Jakovljevic added 18 kills and 11 digs to go with five block assists. Melissa Cheng notched her third highest number of assists this season tonight with 50.  

The opening set saw a complete change from the first time these teams met. AAU showed their growth not only to Dixie State but to their fans as well. In a set that saw 16 ties and 5 lead changes it was truly anyones game. But AAU showed their poise with the most important tie coming at the 22-22 mark. AAU closed the set on a 3-1 run to take set one 25-23. Despite being our hit in terms of kills 14-13, AAU finished with a .324 attack percentage to Dixie States' .196. Jelena Jakovljevic  had five of her 18 kills in the first set.

Determination was the key in set two as AAU found themselves down 12-7 early, and then down 18-13. The Urban Knights, however, rallied back to bring the score to  within one, 19-20 and eventually tied the game at 23-23. The second set saw 10 ties and five lead changes, the last of which came at 28-28. A Jakovljevic kill and an error by DSC gave AAU a two set advantage over Dixie State. AAU as a team had 22 kills in the set and finished with a .292 attack percentage to that of Dixie State who finished the set with just 13 kills.

The third set saw eight ties before the 11th point was scored. At 10 a piece Dixie State extended their lead for good, outscoring AAU 15-5 to close out the set, 25-15. As a team AAU only connected for eigth kills.

The Urban Knights hoped to close out the Red Storm in the fourth set But Dixie State had another thing in mind. The game was as close as one point, 10-11 until Dixie State went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead to 10-17.  The Urban Knights, however, were not out yet, as they brought the score to within two points, 20-22.  But that was as close as AAU would get as DSC closed out the set on a 3-0 run taking the match into a fifth and deciding set. 

The fifth set saw Dixie State jump out to an early 7-4 lead over the Urban Knights. But after the teams traded sides AAU made a run of their own. The Urban Knights were able to bring the score to within two points on two separate occasions; first  at 10-12, then again at 12-14. Dixie State took the match on an Alex Shearer kill.

For the Red Storm Madisyn Fitzgerald and Katie Luna finished tied for a team high 20 kills. Alex Shearer added 14 kills, while Brita Noble chipped in with 11 kills and 20 digs. Chelsi DeWitt dished out a match high 57 assists tonight to go with her 15 digs.

The Urban Knights finish their season 18-15 overall and 5-11 in the Pacific West Conference.