BELMONT, Calif. – Academy of Art University volleyball experience a bit of déjà vu on Saturday inside Walter Gleason Gymnasium on day two of the Route 92 Showdown. Like Friday, the Urban Knights resiliently came back with three straight set victories to defeat Cal State Monterey Bay 3-2 prior to a 3-0 sweep by Chico State.

MATCH #1
Down one point midway through the first set, ART U rallied with a 6-0 run featuring three kills by freshman Stine Raben and gained a 13-8 advantage. Soon the teams exchanged multiple ties before four of six points went to the Otters along with a 25-22 set victory. Two quick 4-0 CSUMB runs were later backed up by a 6-0 push as Monterey  Bay dominated the second set 25-14.

A 10-5 Otters lead opened the third frame, but a 6-1 surge with a trio of kills from senior Isabel Emrich put the Knights back in front. With CSUMB up 20-18, Academy of Art appeared in danger of losing the match yet what followed was tremendous fortitude on the part of ART U. Seven of the final eight points were scored by the Urban Knights as service aces by Lucas and freshman Safua Elisaia were backed up by kills from Emrich and Raben to win 25-20.

Academy of Art carried its momentum into the fourth set, going up 11-3 on a series of kills by Elisaia and freshman Hanna Kahn. The cushion remained on ART U's side until the end when a 9-0 push by the Otters threatened at 24-23, but the Knights held on with a Raben putaway.

Five unanswered ART U points started the decisive fifth frame and CSUMB was limited to just one kill in the entire set. Emrich and Kahn posted kills along with an Emrich service ace as the final four scores were Academy of Art for a 15-4 end result.

MATCH #2
Although the Urban Knights gained a 6-5 advantage in the first set against Chico State, a 6-1 Wildcats run changed the momentum. Shortly thereafter an 8-0 push by Chico State gave them a cushion to win 25-14.

The second set was all ART U early with three consecutive service aces by freshman Alana Lucas coming during an 8-1 surge to start. Despite the Knights' 13-7 advantage, Chico State came back with a 9-1 rebuttal which came despite a 45 minute delay due to an overflown bathroom. Two clutch points from 23-20 put the Wildcats on top two sets to none.

A Soolsma kill and service ace from freshman Lyndsay Mlynar highlighted a 6-5 set three start by the Knights. The teams would trade points until 13-13 when nine straight points by the Wildcats led them to a 25-16 final and the sweep.

In the two matches, Raben once again finished with team-highs of 15 and six kills while earning her first double-double of the year with 12 digs against CSUMB. Mlynar posted team-bests of 22 and 12 digs while Lucas tallied 45 assists versus the Otters and 20 against the Wildcats. In the first contest, Emrich contributed 10 kills and Kahn added eight putaways as well as 18 digs.

Next weekend, the Urban Knights will travel to Seattle for the PacWest-GNAC Crossover hosted by Seattle Pacific. ART U opens with a rematch against Montana State Billings and Alaska on Sept. 10 followed by single gamedays with SPU on Sept. 11 and Simon Fraser on Sept. 12.