AU Pro Volleyball Season 4: Week 4 Draft Dots

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

• Opposite Brittany Abercrombie returns as the Gold team captain for the second week in a row … The AU Pro Volleyball newcomer is in her third term as a team leader and holds a perfect 6-0 record. 
• Abercrombie enters Week Four as the only player on the 2024 roster with a perfect match record … She is the third player in AU Pro Volleyball history to open a season with a 9-0 record, joining setter Kelly Hunter (2021) and libero Morgan Hentz (2023). 
• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía wears the captain’s “C” for the 14th time in her Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball career, extending her record for most stints as a team leader across all Athletes Unlimited sports … De La Cruz-Mejía will lead the Orange team for the sixth time in her career, including the second straight week. 
• Libero Morgan Hentz returns to the captain’s chair for the second time this season after guiding the Blue side in Week One … Hentz, who begins her sixth career stint as a team leader, holds an 8-7 record as a captain in her three-year career. 
• Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh held onto the fourth spot on the leaderboard to earn a captain’s position for a second straight week and will pilot the Purple squad in Week Four … Member-Meneh went 1-2 in her first week as an AU Pro Volleyball team leader during Week Three. 
• Middle blocker Molly McCage was the first overall selection in the Week Four draft, becoming the fourth different player to go No. 1 this season … The Texas product, who matched the league’s single-week record with 12 solo blocks in Week Three, claimed the draft’s top choice for the first time in her career. 
• In addition, McCage was taken in the first round for the seventh time in her four-year AU Pro Volleyball career, including the third time in four drafts this season. 
• Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel was selected with the second overall pick by Team Hentz, marking the fourth consecutive week she has been taken in the first round … She is the only player in the league to go in the first four picks during all four weekly drafts this season. 
• Outside hitters Dani Drews and Brooke Nuneviller completed the first round draft picks and have each been selected in the opening four picks three times this season. 
• Libero Manami Kojima elevated one spot in the draft order from Week Three as the No. 5 selection of the Week Four draft … She matches Morgan Hentz for the highest draft pick for a libero this season … Hentz was taken fifth overall by Team Abercrombie last week. 
• This is the first time this season Kojima will not be teammates with outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía … The duo played together in Week One on the Gold squad and on the Orange team in each of the last two weeks. 
• Opposite Khat Bell vaulted into the top 10 on the draft board after posting 682 leaderboard points in Week Three … She was ninth overall by Team Member-Meneh, signaling a 13-spot improvement from last week’s draft … It is the second time Bell has been drafted in the top 10 picks after going off the draft board at No. 8 in Week Two. 
• Setter Alisha Childress improved her draft status by four spots and was taken eighth overall in Week Four after leading the league with 111 assists last week … She matched the best draft position of her three-year AU Pro Volleyball career after going No. 8 in Week Three last season.
• Middle blocker Jenna Rosenthal had the largest improvement in the draft selections after rocketing 18 places up the draft board to 18th after going No. 36 in Week Three. 
• Despite ranking eighth in the league with 695 leaderboard points and third with 100 assists, setter Marlie Monserez dropped 19 spots to the 34th pick in Week Four … It is her lowest selection this season. 
• Outside hitter Temi Thomas-Ailara took advantage of her first week as a starter and moved six places into the top 10 on the draft board with the No. 6 selection in Week Four … Thomas-Ailara ranked fourth in the circuit last week with 773 leaderboard points and garnered her highest draft pick this season. 
• Libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto will play alongside Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía as her captain for the ninth time in her 19-week AU Pro Volleyball career … It is the most selections of any player for De La Cruz-Mejía in her 14 stints as a team captain. 
• Opposite Heydi Casanova rose 11 places to No. 26 on the draft board … She was the first opposite selected by Team Hentz this week. 
• Middle blocker Kayla Haneline tied the AU Pro Volleyball record with seven solo blocks on Monday night and improved her draft position to No. 14 on Tuesday morning … It is the highest selection of her inaugural season after going off the board with the 18th pick in Week Three. 
• Opposite Willow Johnson continues to climb the draft board and was picked sixth overall in Tuesday’s Week Four proceedings … It is her highest selection since Team Linnehan took her with the No. 3 overall choice during Week Two last season. 
• Setter Marlie Monserez remains on the Blue squad for a fourth straight week … She is the only player on the roster to don the same color jersey in each of the first four weeks this season. 
• Team Member-Meneh features middle blocker Molly McCage, setter Alisha Childress and opposite Khat Bell, who were teammates with the Vegas Thrill during the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation campaign earlier this year … Meanwhile, Team De La Cruz-Mejía consists of opposite Willow Johnson, libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto and setter Nootsara Tomkom, who were all part of the San Diego Mojo. 
• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía and libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto are wearing an Orange jersey for the eighth time in their AU Pro Volleyball careers … The total matches setter Taylor Bruns Tegenrot and outside hitter Erin Fairs for the most times wearing a single jersey color in AU Pro Volleyball history. 
• Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson dons a Blue shirt for the fifth time in her 14 career AU Pro Volleyball weekly segments … It is the most times she has worn a color, yet the first time she has sported Blue since Week Two last season. 
• Setter Nootsara Tomkom will be in an Orange jersey for the seventh time in her Athletes Unlimited career, including the fifth time in the last eight weeks. 
• Middle blocker Jenna Rosenthal joins the Blue team for the sixth time in her career, the most of any other shirt color … She previously wore Gold in each of the last two weeks. 
• Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller will wear a Gold top for just the second time in her AU Pro Volleyball career after serving as the Gold team captain in Week One this season. 
• Middle blocker Molly McCage dons a Purple jersey for just the second time in her four-year AU Pro Volleyball tenure … She previously played in a Purple top in Week Three during the 2022 season. 
• The Orange team will feature middle blocker Tori Dixon for the fifth time … Dixon has sported an Orange jersey in four of her last six weeks. 
• Setter Alisha Childress is a member of the Purple team for the sixth time in her 14-week AU Pro Volleyball tenure … It is the third time this season she has worn the color.