AU Pro Volleyball Week 1 Draft Takeaways
Chemistry, Frontcourt Strategy and Global Representation Define Week 1 Rosters
As last year’s champion, Brittany Abercrombie knows better than anyone the challenges of staying atop the Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball leaderboard week after week. With the fourth and fifth picks in the Week One draft, she made it clear that established chemistry would be her guiding principle.
Her first selection was Canadian national team veteran Alexa Gray, followed closely by middle blocker Molly McCage. The choice to prioritize Gray came from the preseason ramp-up, where Abercrombie shared the court with Gray in scrimmages alongside familiar faces from U.S. National Team outside hitter Claire Chaussee and libero Justine Wong-Orantes.
“I thought that they played really well together. So I drafted both of them (Gray and Chaussee) for my team this week,” Abercrombie explained. “They already have passed together and worked through that communication piece, and Justine. They all three already played together, so I’m excited that they already have a little bit of a rhythm.”
That sense of rhythm is something she’s carried over from last year’s championship run. McCage and setter Sydney Hilley were two of just five players to appear on multiple Abercrombie rosters last season, and that was a trend she leaned into again this week.
“Molly’s such a gamer. She’s just always fiery and wants to win. She’s always locked in, and she’s a great middle blocker. She’s super diverse,” she said. “And then Sydney’s just super solid. She’s super reliable. I have a good connection with her on the back set, so I’m excited to play with her.”
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While Abercrombie knows that in AU, familiarity can be a huge differencemaker, she’s confident that any combination of players from this year’s pool of stars could snag valuable win points.
“The talent is incredible,” she explained. “I have so much respect for all the girls and all the players here. There are no bad teams. There are no bad players. There’s never going to be an easy match. Everything is going to be a grind and a dog fight.”
According to the reigning champ, the excellence radiating from this year’s roster isn’t limited to on-court contributions.
“It’s really not comparable,” she added. “It’s really unique. Everyone here are really nice humans and also really competitive and excellent volleyball players. And you don’t always find that kind of mix in other teams and other leagues.”
Block Party Pending…
Abercrombie doubled down on defense at the net by drafting both McCage and Emily Thater to anchor her middle blocker slots.
McCage is coming off back-to-back AU Blocker of the Year awards, breaking the single-season solo block record last year with 40 rejections and becoming the first player in league history to reach 100 career solo blocks.
“She’s a great blocker, such a presence on the court. And I don’t want to play against her,” Abercrombie laughed. “I want her on my team.”
Thater has proven just as formidable, ranking second on AU’s all-time single-season solo block list with 36 in her 2024 campaign. With both in her lineup, Abercrombie has assembled one of the toughest frontcourt tandems of the week.
De La Cruz-Mejía Prioritizes Pin Power
2024 runner-up Betty De La Cruz-Mejía was one of three pin hitters to earn a captain’s chair for Week One, and she wasted no time reinforcing the positions. The veteran captain selected familiar AU standouts Khat Bell and Dani Drews to stack her offense from the pins.
Bell is an opposite hitter known for her defensive versatility as much as her attacking. She appeared in all 46 sets last season, ranking seventh in the league with 152 kills while also contributing 122 digs and 22 solo blocks.
Drews, meanwhile, brings proven scoring power to her third AU season after finishing sixth on last year’s leaderboard with 222 kills – becoming one of just eight players in AU history to record 200 or more in a season. She also stands fourth on the league’s career list with 389 kills and is tied for sixth in career MVP points.
Together, Bell and Drews give De La Cruz-Mejía both balance and firepower at the pins heading into the opening weekend.
Kingdon Rishel Goes Global
Madi Kingdon Rishel’s Week One roster features the largest group of newcomers with seven total, and the widest range of international experience.
Her roster includes Brazilian national team veterans Natalia Zilio Pereira and Lorenne Teixeira, Japan’s Manami Kojima, and Thailand’s Chompoo Guedpard. On the U.S. side, she drafted Serena Gray, who competed with Team USA in this summer’s Volleyball Nations League, and Jaali Winters, fresh off a NORCECA Final Six gold medal.
By mixing emerging AU talent with decorated international stars, Kingdon Rishel has built the most globally diverse squad of the week, one that could be unpredictable but dangerous if it finds its rhythm early.
The 2025 AU Pro Volleyball Championship features 44 of the world’s top volleyball players in an exclusive, high-stakes tournament to determine the ultimate champion of the sport. These elite athletes, handpicked from the best domestic and international pro leagues, will face off in the nation’s premier volleyball hubs in Omaha, Nebraska, at the Liberty First Credit Union Arena (October 1-15) and in Madison, Wisconsin, at the Alliant Energy Center (October 22 – November 3). Tickets for both locations are now available here.
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Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
