OAKLAND, Calif.--Hawai`i Hilo held leads late in all three sets of a seesaw battle with Academy of Art on Saturday afternoon, but ultimately lost to the Urban Knights 27-25, 25-23, 26-24 in a Pacific West Conference match played at Mills College.

The loss was the third straight for the Vulcans and the second on this trip in the bay area, after falling to previously winless Holy Names on Friday night. UHH is now 9-14 on the season and 7-11 in conference play. Academy of Art improved to 7-19 in 2016 and is now 5-12 in conference play.

All three sets went back and forth, had numerous ties, and the visitors held leads late in the game. But the Urban Knights battled back to win each contest.

A Marley Strand-Nicolaisen kill gave the Vuls a 22-21 lead in set one, and after her team fell behind, she put down another ball to make it 23-23. A few moments later, a Siera Green kill made the score 24-24, and a Urban Knight error gave UHH a set point at 25-24. But AAU scored the next three points to win, 27-25.

The two teams traded leads again in the second set, with the count eventually tied at 21-21. A UHH service error and back-to-back Art service aces made it 24-21 for the home team. The Vulcans fought back with kills by Kyndra Trevino-Scott and setter Sienna Davis to pull within one point, but a UHH attack error gave the final point to AAU (25-23).

In the third set, the Vulcans held leads at 21-19, 22-20, 23-21 and 24-22. But Academy of Art scored the final four points of the match on three kills and an attack error to pull off the upset victory.

Strand-Nicolaisen was the only Vulcan with more than four kills on the day, finishing with 14. She also had 12 digs and four assisted blocks. Davis had 25 assists and 12 digs, and Trevino-Scott had nine assisted blocks.

Kabrina Speakman led the Urban Knights with 17 kills.

Hawai`i Hilo will wrap up the northern California trip on Monday with a match at Dominican. Start time is 7 p.m. Pacific (5 pm Hawaii).