GAME #5
ART U (2-2) vs. San Francisco State (3-0)
September 7, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Pioneer Gymnasium -- Hayward, CA
Live Stats

GAME #6
ART U (2-2) vs. Cal State East Bay (2-1)
September 7, 2012 at 7:00 PM
Pioneer Gymnasium -- Hayward, CA
Live Stats

GAME #7
ART U (2-2) vs. Humboldt State (1-2)
September 8, 2012 at 11:30 AM
Pioneer Gymnasium -- Hayward, CA
Live Stats

GAME #8
ART U (2-2) vs. Cal State Monterey Bay (3-1)
September 8, 2012 at 4:30 PM
Gleason Gym -- Belmont, CA
Live Stats

OPENING SERVE
Academy of Art University will take their talents to the South Bay as they continue the tournament season. Following a 2-2 split at the competitive Otter Classic, they'll stay local once again in the Route 92 Showdown, co-hosted by Cal State East Bay and Notre Dame de Namur. All tournament details can be located here.

SEE YOU LATER, GATORS
The Urban Knights and the Gators of SF State have seen a lot of each other over the past week, but have not played each other yet in 2012. The two teams were both at the Otter Classic, but didn't meet head-to-head. The two schools also met on the soccer pitch, where the men's soccer team took down SFSU 2-1 on Wednesday. The Gators won their three games in Seaside, taking down Maryville and Alaska-Anchorage before dropping Seattle Pacific in a non-conference matchup. Kelly Ostello and Meagan Wright rank second and third in the CCAA in kills, and Iris Tolenada is second in assists.This will be the first matchup in the history of these two teams.

PIONEERS HIT THE TRAILS
Tournament co-host Cal State East Bay went a different direction for its first action of the year, traveling way up north to the Nanook Classic hosted by University of Alaska - Fairbanks. The Pioneers took two out of three, including a win over the hosts. Nicole Boyle and Suzy Ni Xu had big weekends for the Pioneers, earning All-Tournament honors. Xu has racked up 34 total kills and a .309 attack percentage, both of which lead the team. The two teams have met once before, with Cal State East bay coming out victorious on September 2, 2011.

HEATH TAKES FIVE
Outside hitter Angela Heath is entering her fifth year with the Knights after missing her third season with a knee injury. She is the only current Urban Knight to have been with the program since its inception, and has seen the changes that have culminated in her senior year. Heath is high up on the leaderboard in many categories, ranking second in total kills with 637. She is also creeping up on 500 digs (437), 200 blocks (187), and 100 matches (87). 

JUMPING THE JACKS
Humboldt State lost two of their first three matches at their own tournament, dropping close matches with PacWest opponents Dominican and Cal Baptist before righting the ship with a 3-2 match against Holy Names. Humboldt has won the first set in all three matches so far, but has only come away with the one victory. Alexa Rosendale tops the leader board for the Jacks with 52 kills. The Knights are 1-1 all time against Humboldt, facing them once in 2008 (W 3-1) and last year in 2011 (L 0-3).

FROM HOST TO GUEST
Cal State Monterey Bay hosted the Otter Classic last week but didn't play against ART U, and now is traveling north from Seaside to be a guest at the Route 92 Showdown, drawing the Knights in the final game of the tournament. The Otters went 3-1 in their own tournament, highlighted by sophomore Julia Ashen, who put down 25 kills in the four set win over Alaska–Anchorage and breaking the Otters program record set in 2005. CSUMB won the only other matchup between these two teams back in 2009.

SETTING IT UP
With the tournament schedule out of the way, the Urban Knights will start PacWest play with one of the newest PacWest members in Holy Names (CA) on Sep. 13. The Hawks hail from right across the Bay, and the Knights have a bone to pick with them after Holy Names broke a streak of six wins by the Knights that ended last year. Then the Knights will take on Dominican on Sep. 15 with another streak on the line, as ART U has taken five in a row from the Penguins.