IRVINE, Calif. – Standing victorious for the third time in its past four matches, Academy of Art volleyball put away Concordia 3-2 (17-25, 25-21, 25-18, 19-25, 15-11) on Saturday afternoon inside CU Arena for its second victory over the Eagles this year. Hitting the best they have all season, five different Urban Knights registered kills in the double figures led by a match-high 16 from junior middle blocker/opposite Sadie Emery.

Despite a 5-1 run by Concordia in the early stages, the first set remained relatively close throughout. Just two points separated the teams at 19-17 after Emery sent down back-to-back kills during a 5-2 push, but CUI would score the final six points it needed to claim the first set 25-17.

Academy of Art would bounce back in a big way in the second frame, hitting .342 with only three errors in 38 attempts. After going ahead 7-4 on a service ace from junior outside hitter Mariana Figueroa Ferriera, ART U saw its lead shift to Concordia with their 5-1 response. The Urban Knights came right back, however, scoring kills from four different individuals in their own 5-1 surge. Tied up at 21-21 late, kills by sophomore middle blocker Jillian Wheaton and Figueroa Ferriera signed off on a 25-21 win for Academy of Art, evening the match 1-1.

Set three was even until the Knights burst ahead with a 10-1 run that included two kills apiece for Emery, Wheaton, and junior outside hitter Ashley Pawlak. Now up 18-8, ART U stayed firmly in front, finishing off the 25-18 result with four of the final six points, two on kills by Wheaton yet again.

Hoping to force a fifth set, the Eagles opened the fourth frame up 11-5, but sophomore outside hitter Celena Davison would make an immediate impact, connecting for a pair of kills upon entering the match. Though that offense cut the deficit to three, Concordia would keep its advantage around six for the remainder, sending the teams to a decisive final set with a 25-19 triumph.

Wheaton's two kills to start the fifth set the tone as Academy of Art continued to come right after the Eagles with the match on the line. Trailing 9-8, ART U found an opening with five unanswered points including back-to-back blocks involving Wheaton to go up 13-9. Wheaton had one of the final two kills as the teams traded points and the Knights soon prevailed 15-11.

The win put Academy of Art at 7-12 on the year and 5-7 against PacWest opponents. Helping lead to the team's highest hitting percentage (.250) as well as the second-highest kill (66) and assist (64) totals of the season (66), Emery turned in 16 kills while sophomore setter Picabo Reinhold posted her 13th double-double of the year (57 assists, career-high 22 digs).

"It was nice to bounce back after the loss on Friday," said head coach Allen McCreary. "We were able to get our hitters involved early and we could rely on all of them when we needed them. This match says a lot about how Coby runs our offense and we were finding ways to score. We keep getting better one day at a time and we work harder every time we step on the court."

Combining for half of ART U's blocks in the match, Wheaton delivered 14 kills with a singular attack error for a .481 hitting percentage and junior middle blocker Carly Evetts added 11 kills and only one error herself for a .435 attack percentage. Pawlak offered her eighth double-double of 2019 with 11 kills and 17 digs while Figueroa Ferriera's 11 kills and 23 digs (one shy of her career-high set one week ago) represented her sixth double-double. Junior libero Michaela Charrette contributed a career-high six assists in addition to 13 digs.

Though four Eagles reached double figures in kills led by Riley Gill's 15, Concordia fell to 10-9 overall and 4-7 in conference action, one win back of Academy of Art.

The Urban Knights will complete their stretch of five consecutive road matches next Friday, Oct. 25 with a non-conference contest at NCAA Division III UC Santa Cruz (7 p.m.). PacWest play resumes the following afternoon, Saturday, Oct. 26, with a home match hosting Fresno Pacific (3 p.m.).