San Francisco, CA -- The Academy of Art University women's volleyball team jumped out with a strong start against Dixie State University in a rare Tuesday night contest, but the Red Storm were able to convert a strong finish to send the Urban Knights to their third straight loss. ART U dominated the first set and continued to get strong play out of their young core, but couldn't maintain the momentum throughout the match, falling 25-15, 19-25, 17-25, 22-25.

The Urban Knights looked real good out of the gate, breaking out from a 4-4 tie to an 11-4 advantage with Rachael Smith serving. They extended that lead as far as 20-9 on a kill from Smith, and finished it off with a big kill from Caitlin Boring to stop a late charge by Dixie State. The Knights hit .279 for the first set, getting 15 kills and only making three errors, and looked to have strong momentum heading into the rest of the match.

But the Red Storm matched those stats in the second set, getting 15 kills and three errors and going on a run early in the set to take a 12-4 lead.The Knights brought it back close with Taylor Suchy serving, as a kill from freshman Melissa Brum made it 16-15, but Dixie pulled away with Haylee Wilkes serving and eventually won it 25-19. The third set was much closer throughout, but the Red Storm held a slim lead for the entirety, going on a late 7-1 run to finish it off and go ahead 2-1. The final set of the match was also closely contested, with a tie as late a 21-21, but once again it was Dixie State who closed it out, staving off the Knights advances and holding on for the 3-1 victory.

Freshman Emily Papale totaled 13 kills on a night hitting .294 for the Urban Knights, while Brum added 11 kills. Brittany Ulmer and Lindsay Elgin each added seven kills, while Smith had four kills and 38 assists. ART U continued to outblock their opponents, totaling 11.0 to Dixie's 6.0 stops. The Red Storm's Maddie Rex had 14 kills to lead all hitters, while Kendahl Weiland added 12 kills. Shelby Sorenson had 37 assists.

The Urban Knights make a short road trip to play Notre Dame de Namur before another three-game stretch at Kezar Pavilion when they host three of the four Hawaiian schools.