Match #13
ART U Urban Knights (4-8, 2-3 PWC) vs. Hawaii Pacific Sharks (7-5, 3-1 PWC)
Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #14
ART U Urban Knights (4-8, 2-3 PWC) vs. UH Hilo Vulcans (7-5, 2-2 PWC)
Thursday, October 3, 2019 at 7 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

Match #15
ART U Urban Knights (4-8, 2-3 PWC) vs. Chaminade Silverswords (10-2, 4-0 PWC)
Saturday, October 5, 2019 at 3 p.m.
San Francisco – Kezar Pavilion
Live Stats & Live Video

ART U GETS FIRST LOOK AT SHARKS, VULCANS, SILVERSWORDS
The final week of Academy of Art volleyball's eight-part homestand brings three Pacific West Conference Hawaiian opponents with Hawaii Pacific, UH Hilo, and Chaminade stepping inside Kezar Pavilion.

FIRST SERVE
Matches six, seven, and eight of the Urban Knights' current homestand will feature Hawaii Pacific on Wednesday, Oct. 2 at 7 p.m., UH Hilo on Thursday, Oct. 3 at 7 p.m., and finally Chaminade on Saturday, Oct. 5 at 3 p.m. All contests are set to take place inside Kezar Pavilion. Live coverage will be available via the links above. Remember to follow @ARTU_Knights via the athletics app (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) and on Twitter & Instagram as well as "Like" the Urban Knights on Facebook for score updates, videos, and recaps.

KNIGHT WATCH
Now with all 12 PacWest teams having played 10 or more matches in 2019, Academy of Art ranks second in the conference in both service aces per set (1.72) and digs per set (16.96). The duo of junior outside hitters Mariana Figueroa Ferriera (0.46) and Ashley Pawlak (0.41) rank third and fifth respectively in service aces per set and both are among the team's top offensive and defensive categories. Each with five double-doubles thus far, Pawlak leads the team with 2.91 kills per set and sits fifth at 3.36 digs per set while Figueroa Ferriera is the ART U leader in digs per set (3.56) and third in kills per set (2.28). Pawlak recently broke into the top 10 in multiple Academy of Art career categories including kills (ninth), service aces (seventh), and digs (eighth). Sophomore setter Picabo Reinhold remains the team's leader in double-doubles with nine while ranking third in the PacWest in assists per set (8.93). The third-highest hitting percentage in the conference (.385) belongs to sophomore middle blocker Jillian Wheaton who has posted double-digit kills five times thus far.

THE SHARK ATTACK
Picked to finish seventh in the PacWest preseason coaches poll, Hawaii Pacific started the year with a 4-1 record before evening out with a 0-4 stretch. Since the start of conference play, the Sharks are 3-1 and midway through the second of three trips to the mainland. HPU comes into its matchup with ART U having won three in a row and only allowing two sets to its opponents. Hawaii Pacific carries two of the PacWest's top three in terms of kills per set with Cameryn Collie (3.63 k/s) and Perla Escobar (3.16 k/s). Wednesday will be the 19th meeting of the Knights and Sharks with HPU on top 14-4.

A HILO HELLO
In a season with as many rises and falls as the waves off the coast of The Big Island, UH Hilo went 5-5 before its two most recent sweeps of Dominican and Fresno Pacific. The Vulcans were selected fifth in the PacWest preseason coaches poll and are currently seventh just ahead of Academy of Art with a match at Holy Names coming up on Oct. 2 to start the back-to-back. Dangerous across the board, UH Hilo has different players among the PacWest's top 10 in virtually every offensive categories. Kendall Kott leads in assists per set (10.46), Bria Beale is second in kills per set (3.39), the tandem of Emily Wade (1.22) and Ashton Jessee (1.08) are both top four in blocks per set, and Kaila Lizama is seventh in digs per set (4.63). In their historical matchup with ART U, the Vulcans are up 12-3, but the three Knights victories have come in San Francisco.

SWORDS NOT SETTLING FOR SILVER
The PacWest coaches had the foresight to see Chaminade would be a title contender as they picked the Silverswords to finish second in the preseason poll. To this point, CUH has delivered with a perfect 4-0 conference record while only losing two of 10 matches (Western Washington and Seattle Pacific notched the wins). Academy of Art will be the final stop on the Silverswords' five-part mainland roadtrip after Fresno Pacific (Oct. 2) and Holy Names (Oct. 4) come prior. Well-rounded like UH Hilo, Chaminade brings two of the PacWest's top seven hitting percentages with Lataisia Saulala (.388) and Rachel Reedy (.347) in addition to Emma Tecklenburg who ranks seventh with 3.03 kills per set. At the forefront of the conference's top team in terms of service aces (2.20, 18th in NCAA DII), Leka Kiner-Falefa paces the PacWest with 0.51 aces per set. In what has been an even matchup to this point, CUH leads ART U 9-8 all-time.

LOOKING AHEAD
With its longest homestand of the year complete, Academy of Art will be on the road for its next five matches. The road swing starts at Dominican on Oct. 9 and Fresno Pacific on Oct. 12.