TURLOCK, Calif. – Back inside Ed & Bertha Fitzpatrick Arena for the second and final day of Stanislaus State's NorCal Volleyball Classic, Academy of Art volleyball took a pair of tough losses to West Region opponents. In Saturday's opener, ART U came progressively closer to Humboldt State in each frame, forcing set point in the third, but the Lumberjacks would hold on to win 3-0 (25-17, 25-21, 26-24). The nightcap pit the Urban Knights against the host Warriors who prevailed 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-16) as well.
MATCH 1 – HSU 3, ART U 0
After gaining a 10-4 advantage to start, Humboldt State saw that margin nearly evaporate completely as junior opposite
Kiersten Kerch's kill began Academy of Art's own 10-4 response that later featured a pair of kills from resdshirt senior middle blocker
Safua Elisaia. One point separated the teams at 18-17, but seven straight scores for the Jacks ended up securing them the opener 25-17.
Even through the first 10 points of the second frame, ART U used another kill from Elisaia and capitalized on HSU miscues to go ahead 8-5. Freshman setter
Picabo Reinhold and sophomore middle blocker
Sadie Emery added finishers as the Knights built a 13-9 lead, but a 9-1 swing in the other direction then had Humboldt State on top 19-15. With the Jacks sniffing another set victory, Academy of Art pulled within two points on a Kerch kill at 23-21, but the end result was a 25-21 win for the opponent.
Although Humboldt State got ahead 9-3 to start the third set, Academy of Art swiftly fought back with nine unanswered points as freshman outside hitter
Celena Davison got the first kill of her collegiate career and Elisaia added two more put-aways during that stretch. HSU gained another three-point lead thereafter, but that gap closed on some tag-team work from Elisaia and Davison who combined for a block amid multiple kills. With the set tied 23-23, Davison once again connected for what created set point, but two kills from the Jacks made a last-ditch momentum shift that barely earned them the sweep with a 26-24 final.
"Our team played well in the first match," said head coach
Allen McCreary. "We were just missing the long runs in that one."Â
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MATCH 2 – STAN 3, ART U 0
Facing Stanislaus State in the tournament finale, Academy of Art stayed right with the host early on behind multiple kills from Emery. A 6-0 run by the Warriors created the first separation and later an 8-1 push sealed the 25-12 victory.
The second set saw Stanislaus State go ahead 13-8 before a 7-1 push made the difference in the 25-14 final. That momentum took the form of an 8-0 start to set three and, though four different Knights contributed kills during a rebuttal that cut the lead to one at 13-12, the Warriors took 11 of the last 14 points to win 25-16 and complete the sweep.
ART U, who exits the NorCal Volleyball Classic 0-4, had top offensive performances from Elisaia and Pawlak who combined for 23 of the Knights' kills in the two matches. Reinhold's 23 assists versus HSU were her most out of the four matches and she would add 10 digs for a double-double in that one.
"We still need to focus on our passing and be able to terminate the ball on the pins," said McCreary. "The focus for our team moving forward is to get better at our serve and pass game."
With its first tournament of the season now complete, Academy of Art looks ahead to its own tournament, the West Region Volleyball Crossover, which it will host at SF State on Aug. 31-Sept. 1. The six-team competition will pit the Knights against Montana State Billings and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Aug. 31 then Saint Martin's and SF State on Sept. 1.Â
