SAN FRANCISCO – Hawai'i Pacific University extended its winning streak to five in a row with a straight sets PacWest Conference victory over Academy of Art on Saturday afternoon at Kezar Pavilion.
 
The Sharks (11-13, 10-8) closed their last road trip of the season winning all five of their northern California matches by beating the Urban Knights (0-25, 0-17) 25-23, 25-23, 25-15.
 
The Sharks posted an attack percentage of .324 for the match with 8.0 team blocks, as the Sunbirds hit .156 with 8.0 team blocks.
 
Senior Chandler Lippincott of Phoenix, Ariz./Desert Vista led the Sharks with 10 kills and a .667 attack percentage while posting three blocks. Freshman Nicole Ferris of Woodstock, Ga./Etowah also recorded 10 kills with a .444 attack percentage. Senior Carson Pyle of Houston, Texas/Memorial collected five blocks for the Sharks.
 
The Urban Knights were led by Ashley Pawlak with 12 kills and a block. Jillian Wheaton posted eight kills with a .412 attack percentage and six blocks for ARTU.
 
Despite the two close sets, the Sharks trailed only twice in the match, and that was in the second set when all seven tied scores happened.
 
HPU opened the match with the first two points and never was tied in the first set. The Sharks had a 5-1 run midway through the opening set, starting with a Lippincott kill and ending with a kill from sophomore Sierra Piester of Carlsbad, Calif./Tri-City Christian. HPU pulled out to a 23-19 lead when ARTU rallied for a 3-0 run to pull with 23-22 on a service ace by Alana Lucas. After an HPU timeout, the team traded points before the Sharks ended the first set with a kill from Pyle for a 25-23 win.
 
The second set saw the Urban Knights jump out to a 9-3 advantage and a 10-4 lead after a kill by Kiersten Kirch. The Sharks responded with a kill from junior Amanda Acosta of Exeter, Calif./Exeter Union to start a 7-0 run to take the lead at 11-10. The squads exchanged scores when HPU went on another 5-1 run for a 17-13 advantage, when the Urban Knights returned the run to tie the set at 19-19 and again at 20-20 on a kill from Sadie Emery. HPU responded with a kill from Collie and an ARTU attack error for a lead the Sharks wouldn't give up. ARTU threated by pulling up to within one at 24-23, but a Collie kill gave the Sharks the win 25-23.
 
The Sharks dominated the final set. Starting with a 4-0 run, HPU expanded their advantage to 15-5. After an ARTU score, the Sharks rolled up another 4-0 run culminating on a double-block from Collie and Pyle. The Urban Knights showed some life with a late 5-1 run, but a kill from Lippincott and an attack error by ARTU gave HPU the win 25-15 and the match.
 
The Sharks return home to James Castle Gym at St. Andrew's Priory for the final four matches of the season starting with Wednesday night's match against Point Loma. The Halloween affair starts at 7 p.m.