Match #18
ART U Urban Knights (8-9, 3-6 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (11-6, 5-3 PWC)
Wednesday, October 15, 2014 at 7:30 PM
San Francisco, CA – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Video

Match #19
ART U Urban Knights (8-9, 3-6 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (1-16, 1-10 PWC)
Friday, October 17, 2014 at 7:00 PM
Oakland, CA – Tobin Gymnasium
Live Stats & Video

Match #20
ART U Urban Knights (8-9, 3-6 PWC) vs. Dixie State Red Storm (11-5, 8-0)
Tuesday, October 21, 2014 at 6:00 PM MT
St. George, UT – Burns Arena
Live Stats
Live Video

KNIGHTS RETURN TO BAY AREA THEN HEAD TO UTAH FOR REMATCH
Academy of Art University Volleyball is back in town after a trip to Southern California where they battled California Baptist and Point Loma. The Urban Knights' 2014 PacWest Conference campaign rolls on as they meet Fresno Pacific, Holy Names, and travel to Utah for another pairing with Dixie State over the course of the next week.

OPENING SERVE
ART U begins the week with a 7:30 PM match inside Kezar Pavilion against Fresno Pacific on Wednesday, Oct. 15. Then, on Friday, Oct. 17, Academy of Art travels across the bay to Oakland for a 7:00 PM first serve against Holy Names inside Tobin Gymnasium. Finally, the Knights' rematch with Dixie State takes place inside Burns Arena at 6:00 PM MT (5:00 PM PT) on Tuesday, Oct. 21. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights on Twitter & Instagram and "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Still Top 5 in the PacWest in hitting percentage (.204), ART U continues to find its name among the top teams in the conference at third in both service aces (1.51 SA/set) and digs (16.21 DG/set) as well as sixth in both kills (12.06 K/set) and assists (11.44 AST/set). Sophomore Melissa Brum added her 15th double-double in 17 matches over the weekend and continues to rank highly on a national scale. She is currently sixth in the entire NCAA Division II in kills per set (4.53) and seventh in points per set (4.93). She also leads the PacWest in total kills (290) where she is 12th in the country and will likely soon surpass her single-season record of 304 set last year.

Third in the conference, junior Rachael Smith ranks 31st in NCAA DII in assists per set (10.75) as the program's new career assists leader. Smith's single season record of 1,137 assists set last year is second all-time in program history and she currently has amassed 688 here in 2014.  

Senior Kanoe Irvine is also approaching a single-season record as her 29 service aces this season are just eight behind Jelena Jakovljevic's 37 from 2009 at the top. Irvine ranks second in the PacWest in service aces per set (0.45) and is 65th nationally. She along with sophomore Emily Papale are among the conference's Top 10 in digs per set as they average 3.94 and 3.61 respectively. 

SUNBIRDS HEATING UP
Now just one of two California schools ART U has yet to play this season, Fresno Pacific is currently sixth in the PacWest standings despite having an 11-6 overall record while currently riding a four-match win streak. A tough start to the season for the Sunbirds saw them go 1-3, taking losses to Cal State Dominguez Hills and Metro State. However, at the same PacWest/GNAC Challenge as the Knights, FPU won all four of its matches to right the ship. After falling to Point Loma and California Baptist on the road to start conference play, Fresno Pacific topped Azusa Pacific 3-2, fell to BYU-Hawaii 3-2, and now has four consecutive wins under its belt including a 3-1 victory over Hawaii Pacific and two against Holy Names. The Sunbirds are led by Rupia Inck's 3.67 kills per set (5th in PacWest) and Kathleen Anderson's .346 hitting percentage (3rd in PacWest). Defensively, Hannah Butler leads the conference in digs per set (5.66) with a mark that would have her Top 20 in the country. In four historical meetings, FPU holds a 4-0 edge over ART U.

HAWKS ON HARD TIMES
The road to the present has been a difficult one for Holy Names as 13 consecutive losses started the Hawks' season before they pulled out a 3-2 win over Chaminade on Oct. 3. Those three sets were their only sets won in 2014 and since that time Hawaii Pacific as well as Fresno Pacific has taken victories from HNU. Holy Names will face Dominican on Thursday prior to its pairing with Academy of Art. HNU is led by the tandem of Marin Gibson (1.94 k/set) and Kaylyn Lackey (1.84 k/set) and it is Katie Lopez who ranks second in the PacWest in digs per set (5.00). All-time, the Knights are up 8-3 against the Hawks.

STORMING THE CASTLE
After Dixie State's 3-1 victory over ART U back on Sept. 26 inside Kezar Pavilion, the Red Storm have not missed a beat, winning four straight matches for a now nine-match winning streak and a perfect 8-0 PacWest record. They did not make the most recent AVCA Top 25 Poll, but did receive votes after they swept Notre Dame de Namur, Azusa Pacific, and Chaminade as well as secured a big 3-1 victory over Point Loma on Oct. 4. The Red Storm are currently in Hawaii for the remainder of this week (with HPU, BYU-Hawaii, and UH Hilo left to play) before they return to Utah to face Academy of Art next Tuesday. Maddie Rex, who went for 21 kills against the Knights last time, has 3.41 points per set lead DSU while Edithza Urias (3.02 kills/set) and Nicole Koehler (3.28 points/set, 0.89 blk/set) also present dangerous offensive options yet none are among the conference's Top 10 in kills per set. Alex Anderson's 4.88 digs/set has her third in the PacWest for a Red Storm team that is 4-0 at home.

ACADEMY OF ART RALLIES LATE, PLNU PREVAILS
Battling a tough Point Loma team that came in 8-1 in PacWest Conference play, ART U Volleyball ended up on the wrong end of a 3-1 final (25-19, 25-22, 19-25, 25-14) this past Saturday, Oct. 11. Academy of Art came back from a 2-0 deficit with eight kills by sophomore Emily Papale in a turn-around third set, but the Sea Lions ended up holding on in the fourth.

LOOKING AHEAD
There will be one more home match for the Knights, Oct. 25 versus Notre Dame de Namur, before they head out to Hawaii where they will play three matches in three days – Chaminade (Oct. 30), Hawaii Pacific (Oct. 31), and BYU-Hawaii (Nov. 1).