SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — Hawai'i Pacific University made it a season sweep over Academy of Art as the Sharks swept the Urban Knights in three sets on Wednesday night during PacWest Conference action at Kezar Pavilion.
 
The Sharks (7-10, 5-4) moved back to the winning side of the ledger in the PacWest in downing the Urban Knights (4-12, 1-8) 25-15, 25-23, 25-19.
 
"We came in and got the job done tonight," said head coach Jenic Tumaneng. "I was proud of the way they answered each challenge and came through with a solid win."                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    
 
The Sharks hit .263 for the match and recorded 4.o team blocks, while the Urban Knights hit just .118 with 4.0 team blocks.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Perla Escobar of Calexico, Calif./Calexico dominated the match, collecting a game-high 13 kills and a .481 hitting percentage. Senior middle hitter Lea Felton of Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis, posted a .545 hitting percentage with six kills and two blocks.
 
Bailey Soolsman led ArtU with eight kills and two blocks as Jennifer Argelander added six kills.
 
The Sharks opened the game strong, starting with a 5-0 run and never trailing in the first set on the way to a 25-15 win. HPU closed the set on a 7-0 run after ArtU pulled to within 18-15.
 
The second set was the most competitive, as the teams combined for 10 ties and four lead changes.  The Sharks again opened with a 5-0 run (making it 13 straight points adding the closing run of the first set), but the Urban Knights battled back with a 7-2 run to get a tie at 7-all. The squads played tight for most of the set, with neither team holding more than a two-point as HPU gained a 20-18 lead on the ArtU.
 
The Urban Knights rallied with a 3-0 run to take a 21-20 lead before a Kayla Demari kill tied the set at 21 and started a 4-0 HPU run. But with HPU up 24-21, ArtU pulled back to within a point at 24-23 on a pair of HPU attack errors. But the Urban Knights followed with an attack error of their own as HPU chalked up the 25-23 triumph.
 
In the final set, the Urban Knights held the early lead, but HPU remained on their tail. With ArtU up 9-8, Escobar got a kill to tie the set at 9-all, starting a 4-0 run and HPU never trailed again. The Sharks added an 8-2 run capped by a kill from Cameryn Collie for a 20-13 advantage. A pair of Felton kills extended HPU to a 22-16 lead, but the Urban Knights would get no closer than 23-19. An Escobar kill and an attack error by ArtU gave the Sharks a 25-19 win to sweep the match.
 
HPU has a quick turnaround for its final match on the four-match mainland trip as the Sharks meet Notre Dame de Namur on Thursday at 4 p.m. HST (7 p.m. PDT) at Gleason Gym.