Box Score

Hilo, HI -- The Academy of Art women's volleyball team arrived in Hawai'i on Friday, but their first match against Hawai'i-Hilo was not the island welcome they had been looking for, as the Vulcans dispatched the Knights in three sets, 20-25, 10-25, 22-25. 

The Urban Knights sandwiched two solid sets around a disappointing second set that they probably wish they had left at the baggage claim. The first set saw the Knights up 16-13, but a 7-0 run by Hawai'i-Hilo that included six straight attack errors and three blocks gave the Vulcans a 20-13 lead that the visitors were just not able to bounce back from, battling back to 22-20 before the home team finished the set on a 3-0 run. 

The second set was all Vulcans, and pretty much all Hillary Hurley, the 6'2 senior middle hitter who had a monster day, putting up 23 kills and a .538 hitting percentage, including six kills and two blocks in the second set alone. Their dominant set included runs of 5-0 and 6-0 as the Knights simply couldn't get anything rolling in the second frame. The Vulcans hit at an impressive .438 clip for the match.

It seemed that they were about to turn it around in the third set, trading blows with the host Vulcans deep into the game in a set that at one point saw 10 sideouts in a row, after which the Knights were actually up 19-18. But it was Hurley again to the rescue for Hilo, tying the game at 19-19 with a kill, putting the Vulcans ahead 21-20 with another kill, and then again at 22-21 with her final kill of the day. Leinani Keanini had a late kill to bring the Knights within two at 24-22, but the effort came up just short for ART U as they dropped the third set and the match.

Keanini had 12 kills for the Urban Knights, and Angela Heath added 10 kills and 6 digs in their return to their home state of Hawai'i. Melissa Cheng had 32 assists and added four more kills from the setter position, and libero Midori Le had nine digs.

The Knights will play BYU-Hawai'i on Halloween at 10:30 Pacific Time, with live coverage of all of the Hawai'i road trip right here at your home for all Urban Knights Athletics news.