AU Pro Volleyball Season 4: Week 1 Draft Dots

Here is a list of notes and tidbits related to the AU Pro Volleyball Week One draft.

• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía is serving as a captain for the 11th time in her Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball career, which is tied for the second-most career stints by a captain in any AU sport … Attacker Sam Apuzzo (lacrosse) has piloted a team in 12 consecutive weeks spanning the last three seasons, while guard Odyssey Sims has guided 11 squads in her three AU Pro Basketball seasons. 
• In addition, De La Cruz-Mejía enters the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball campaign with 19 victories as a captain, which is second across all Athletes Unlimited sports behind Apuzzo’s 27 career wins. 
• Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller guides the Gold team in her second week as a team captain … Nuneviller led the Purple squad in the final week of the 2023 AU Pro Volleyball season. 
• Libero Morgan Hentz enters the 2024 season as a team captain for the fifth time in her career, including the third time guiding the Blue roster … Hentz went 3-3 as a Blue team captain last season, including a 3-0 record in Week Two of the campaign … This is Hentz’s fourth time in 11 career weeks donning the Blue jersey. 
• Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson begins her fifth career term as a team captain in Week One, taking charge of the Orange squad … It is the second time Valentin-Anderson has worn an Orange top in her career after beginning last season as the Orange team captain. 
• Libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto dons an Orange jersey for the seventh time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, which is tied with setter Taylor Bruns Tegenrot for the second-most times wearing one color in AU Pro Volleyball history … Outside hitter Erin Fairs leads all AU Pro Volleyball players with eight appearances on the Orange team in her 16-week tenure. 
• Led by opposite Brittany Abercrombie, AU Pro Volleyball newcomers accounted for five of the top 10 Week One draft picks. 
• Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller is wearing the Gold jersey for the first time in her Athletes Unlimited career … She wore Orange and Blue twice during the 2023 campaign in addition to donning the Purple jersey once. 
• Middle blocker Karis Watson dons a Blue top for the fourth time in her six career AU Pro Volleyball weeks … She was previously a member of the Blue team for three segments of the 2023 campaign. 
• Middle blocker Molly McCage was selected as the No. 4 pick in the Week One draft, marking the fifth time she has been picked in the first round in her AU Pro Volleyball career … This is the third week in a row she has been taken off the board in the opening four picks after going No. 2 in Week Four and No. 3 in Week Five last season. 
• Seven of Team Nuneviller’s 11 players in Week One will be making their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball debut. 
• Setter Nootsara Tomkom joins the Purple team for just the second time in her 11 career weeks, including the first time since Week Three of the 2022 season … She was a member of the Orange squad in three of last season’s five weekly segments. 
• Opposite Sherridan Atkinson joins Team Hentz and wears a Blue jersey for the third time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, which stands as the most in her six weeks in the league.
• Middle blocker Kaz Brown returns to the Orange squad after wearing the color in each of the first two weeks last season … She closed last season by competing for the Gold squad in the final three weeks. 
• Bruns Tegenrot wears a Blue jersey for the sixth time in her Athletes Unlimited career, including the third week in a row going back to last season. 
• Middle blocker Kayla Caffey sports a Purple shirt for the fifth consecutive week dating back to last season … Caffey made her AU Pro Volleyball debut last season as a member of the Gold team. 
• Setter Sydney Hilley was drafted to the Gold team for the first time in her six-week tenure … She wore a Purple shirt in 4-of-5 weeks during her rookie campaign last year. 
• Opposite Willow Johnson joins the Orange team for the third time in her nine-week AU Pro Volleyball career, including the third time in the last five weeks. 
• Manami Kojima was the first libero selected in the Week One draft with a fifth-round pick by Team De La Cruz-Mejía. 
• Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball newcomers were selected in all four picks during the third round of the Week One draft. 
• The Blue squad consists of libero Morgan Hentz, setter Marlie Monserez, and middle blocker Karis Watson, who all played together on the Atlanta Vibe during the inaugural 2024 Pro Volleyball Federation season.