University of Alaska Fairbanks Athletics

Box Score
HAYWARD, Calif. – Sophomore outside hitter Sam Harthun (Oregon City, Ore./Art) posted a season-high 17 kills against Academy of Art University, giving her 30 for the first day of the Route 92 Showdown, but the Urban Knights were the ones who came away with a 3-0 (25-16, 25-11, 25-18) sweep over the Alaska Nanooks at the Pioneer Gymnasium.
 
Harthun hit .217 while posting a season-high in kills and leading the Nanooks (0-9) in digs with seven. Freshman setter Katelyn Camp (Newton, Iowa/General Studies) added 24 assists to give her 45 on the day in the Nanooks' two matches.
 
Academy of Art University (3-3) hit an impressive .463 as a team with just five errors in the entire match. The Urban Knights brought a balanced attack with four players notching at least six kills, led by Melissa Brum's 16. Meanwhile, the Nanooks posted a .087 hit percentage with 21 errors.
 
Harthun had eight kills in the first set alone, with back-to-back put-aways early in the set to tie it at 2-2. Camp had nine assists in the first set, as the Alaska offense kept the score close, only trailing 12-9 midway through.
 
The Urban Knights distributed the ball evenly from the get-go, with three players tallying four kills each in the first set, and another with three (Melissa Brum). Brittany Ulmer (4 first-set kills), Emily Papale (4) and Brum (3) all hit .500 or better in the opening frame, with Lindsay Elgin hitting .375 in the first set, helping the Urban Knights to a 25-16 first-set victory.
 
Academy of Art University asserted itself in the second set, going on an early 10-0 run after Harthun had opened the set with another kill to give the Nanooks a 1-0 lead, their first of the match. Harthun ended that run with another kill, but the Urban Knights ran off back-to-back points to expand their lead to 10 at 12-2. Harthun again got the Nanooks on the board with a kill, her 11th of the match, but three more points by the Urban Knights pushed the lead to 11 at 14-3.
 
Every time the Nanooks scored a point in the second set, the Urban Knights answered with a short surge of two or three in a row. Alaska posted three straight points to get within eight at 14-6, but that's as close as it would get, as the Urban Knights closed out a 25-11 set win with an 11-5 run.
 
Academy of Art University took an early lead again in the third set, but this time Alaska kept pace. Back-to-back errors by the Urban Knights tied the set at 3-3. A 7-2 run would give the Urban Knights a 10-5 lead, but back came the Nanooks with a 7-2 run of their own to tie the set at 12-12. Alaska earned three consecutive points during that run with senior outside hitter Keri Knight (Arvada, Colo./Business Administration) on the serve, including back-to-back aces.
 
The Urban Knights finally pulled away with a 6-0 run that featured three kills and an ace from Brum, making it 19-13. From there, the teams traded points back and forth on all but one possession, giving Academy of Art University the 25-18 set win and completing the sweep.
 
The Nanooks will hop onto U.S. Route 92 Saturday and cross the San Mateo Bridge over the San Francisco Bay to continue their competition with two more matches in the Route 92 Showdown in Belmont, Calif., on the campus of Notre Dame de Namur. At 10 a.m. AKDT the Nanooks will face Cal State LA, then return that evening to face the co-host Argonauts at 6 p.m. AKDT.