SAN FRANCISCO – The first of two days of action as part of the Gator/Seawolf Classic pit Academy of Art volleyball against a pair of California Collegiate Athletics Association opponents on Friday inside SF State's Main Gym. Opening with closely contested sets, ART U's second meeting with Cal State Monterey Bay in a week's time went to the Otters 3-0 (26-24, 25-23, 25-16). The nightcap later saw SF State emerge with a 3-0 (25-20, 27-25, 25-19) victory over the Urban Knights on its home floor.
MATCH 1 – CSUMB 3, ART U 0
Eight of the first 10 points were scored by the Knights as junior middle blocker
Jillian Wheaton, junior outside hitter
Isaura Santos, and freshman outside hitter
Katherine Von Kraut each put down kills. That margin remained until a 7-2 response from the Otters brought them back to within a single point at 16-15. Three straight kills by senior middle blocker/opposite
Sadie Emery, junior setter
Picabo Reinhold, and Wheaton kept the pressure on, but even though Emery's second kill of the frame gave ART U set point at 24-22, four straight points by CSUMB snuck the opener away 26-24.
Cal State Monterey Bay jumped out to a 13-6 in the early stages of the second set only to see Academy of Art battle right back with a 9-1 surge that included six unanswered points. Santos had a pair of kills in the stretch that put the Knights up by one at 16-15. A one-point difference separated the teams at 22-21 now with ART U trailing and despite put-aways by Mecham and Von Kraut, trading points led the Otters to a 25-23 win and two-set advantage.
The teams extended short runs at the start of the third set, but a one-point margin soon became 11 when CSUMB moved ahead. Though they outscored the Otters 7-4 thereafter, the Knights could not overcome the deficit, falling 25-16 in the frame and 3-0 in the match.
Santos led the way with 11 kills while Von Kraut added nine kills and freshman outside hitter
Ashley Mecham posted seven kills. Reinhold contributed 32 assists and freshman libero
Elena Torres finished with a match-high 10 digs.
MATCH 2 – SFSU 3, ART U 0
Evenly played to start, a pair of service aces from Torres brought the opening set's fourth tie at 13-13. From 17-17, however, the Gators went on a 6-2 run before finishing the frame on top 25-20.
With four different Knights recording kills to help build a 13-9 advantage in the second set, Academy of Art clung to its lead while SF State battled back. A kill by Santos had ART U ahead 17-15 then redshirt junior outside hitter
Celena Davison connected on back-to-back kills to push a 20-17 margin. Another Santos kill soon gave the Knights one of two set points, but the Gators managed to rattle off three straight points thereafter to capture a 27-25 set victory.
A momentum shift came in the form of a steady 10-4 push by SF State, making the third set 18-12 in favor of the home team. One final rally by the Knights was highlighted by kills from Emery, Santos, and Von Kraut before the Gators sealed the 3-0 win with a 25-19 final frame.
Academy of Art, now 2-4 overall, saw Von Kraut tie for the match-high with 13 kills while Reinhold contributed 33 assists and Torres logged 12 digs.
ART U travels to Rohnert Park for tomorrow's finale to the Gator/Seawolf Classic where matchups with Sonoma State (12:30 p.m.) and Humboldt State (5 p.m.) await.
