Match #21
ART U Urban Knights (6-14, 2-10 PWC) vs. Fresno Pacific Sunbirds (5-12, 5-7 PWC)
Thursday, October 29, 2015 at 7:30 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #22
ART U Urban Knights (6-14, 2-10 PWC) vs. Holy Names Hawks (2-19, 0-12 PWC)
Saturday, October 31, 2015 at 7 p.m.
Oakland, Calif. – Tobin Gymnasium
Live Stats & Live Video

ACADEMY OF ART BATTLES BIRDS IN BAY AREA
This week, ART U volleyball continues its stretch of local contests with a home match hosting Fresno Pacific followed by a quick trip across the Bay Bridge to play Holy Names on Halloween.

FIRST SERVE
The Urban Knights open the week with their third consecutive home match, hosting Fresno Pacific at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29 inside Kezar Pavilion. Two days later on Saturday, Oct. 31, ART U takes on Holy Names inside Tobin Gymnasium at 7 p.m. 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 both among the Pacific West Conference's top 14 in terms of kills per set, junior outside hitter Melissa Brum (3.51) and freshman outside hitter Stine Raben (3.26) continue to compose one of the top offensive duos. Brum has moved up to 11th in the conference at 3.37 k/s. Sophomore middle blocker Margaret Winkler ranks fourth in the PacWest in blocks per set (1.02) while senior setter Rachael Smith enters the week eighth in assists per set (9.48). Junior libero Kabrina Speakman and freshman defensive specialist Lyndsay Mlynar share the team lead with 4.08 digs per set apiece.
 
A PLACE IN THE SUN
Fresno Pacific sits just three spots ahead of ART U in the PacWest standings with five wins in conference despite going 1-4 in their last five matches. Their most recent contest, however, was a 3-0 sweep of Holy Names and the upcoming match with Academy of Art will be their last road contest before a six-part homestand. Offensively, the team is led by Montana Lowe's .313 hitting percentage (fourth in PacWest) and Gabriela Macedo's 2.97 kills per set. Hannah Butler is fourth in the conference with 4.88 digs per set. In six historical meetings with the Knights, FPU is on top 5-1.

HOLY LAND
Since their Oct. 1 meeting with Academy of Art in which the Knights swept, Holy Names has gone 1-8 with its lone win a 3-0 result over Mills College out of conference play. The Hawks have taken just two sets from their opponent following that victory and most recently fell in straight sets to Dixie State and Fresno Pacific. HNU relies on Kaylyn Lackey and Lihau Perreira for 2.8 and 2.6 points per set respectively. The ART U win earlier this season was the Knights' 11th in 14 previous meetings with the Hawks.

EAGLES TAKE FLIGHT IN  REMATCH WITH KNIGHTS
Academy of Art University volleyball fought through an evenly-played first set, but could not come any closer thereafter, falling to Concordia Irvine 3-0 (25-23, 25-16, 25-18) on Oct. 25.

LOOKING AHEAD
Four more home matches follow this week's action, beginning with matches against Chaminade (Nov. 5) and Hawaii Pacific (Nov. 7).