Taylor Sandbothe © Athletes Unlimited, LLC 2022 / Credit: Jade Hewitt Media

Recap: Captain Valentin-Anderson leads team to 71-67 victory over Team Drews

Taylor Sandbothe © Athletes Unlimited, LLC 2022 / Credit: Jade Hewitt Media

Eric Rhew

Apr 14, 2022

DALLAS — Team captain Natalia Valentin-Anderson registered 33 assists and 20 digs to go with double-digit kill outings from outside hitters Madison Villines and Lindsay Stalzer as Team Valentin-Anderson overcame a first set deficit to hand Team Drews a 71-67 setback to open Week Five of the 2022 Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season at Fair Park Coliseum on Friday evening.

After dropping the opening set by a 25-21 margin, Team Valentin-Anderson responded with set wins of 25-19 and 25-23 to earn the match victory.

Valentin-Anderson authored her league-leading ninth double-double to lead her team in the victory. Stalzer, meanwhile, added a team-high 13 kills to go with 10 kills from Villines. Libero Amanda Benson chipped in 17 digs with three assists.

Team Drews was led by its captain as outside hitter Dani Drews posted her fourth double-double in the last seven matches with a match-high 15 kills and 12 digs. Outside hitter Erin Fairs added eight kills and 10 digs, while setter Ray Santos authored her first double-double of the season with 28 assists and 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Drews claimed the opening set with a 25-21 victory, using a balanced attack that featured at least three kills from four different players. Team Valentin-Anderson responded with a 25-19 decision in the middle set to claim a two-point match lead as Villines registered six kills. In the third set, Team Valentin-Anderson sealed the victory as Stalzer tallied six kills in the frame.

MATCH NOTES

Drews remained the only player in the league to record 10 or more kills in all 13 matches after posting her team-high 15 kills … Drews, who has 192 kills this season, reached the 15-kill plateau for the seventh time this season.
Drews also registered her fifth double-double of the campaign while reaching 10 or more digs for the fifth time.
Valentin-Anderson became the second player in league history to record 20+ assists and 20+ digs in the same match … Setter Brie King had 47 assists and 22 digs against Team Edmond on Mar. 13, 2021.
Valentin-Anderson has a double-double in five consecutive matches and has reached 10 digs in six of the last seven outings.
Santos set season highs with her 28 assists and 11 digs on Thursday night … Prior to Week Five, she had tallied just 27 assists with 16 digs in six matches.
Libero Hana Lishman set a league season high with 22 digs in a losing effort for Team Drews … The 22 digs also equal the second-highest single-match total in league history, matching King’s 22 assists against Team Edmond.
Stalzer has four consecutive double-digit kill performances after her 13 kills on Thursday night … In addition, she now owns seven matches with 10 or more kills this season.
Villines posted her second straight double-digit kill effort, giving her seven this season.
Middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe matched an Athletes Unlimited career high with four blocks in Thursday’s victory … She had registered just three total blocks in her previous three matches.

MATCH MVPS

#1 – Amanda Benson (Team Valentin-Anderson, +60)
#2 – Taylor Sandbothe (Team Valentin-Anderson, +40)
#3 – Dani Drews (Team Drews, +20)

POINT-EARNERS

Team Valentin-Anderson conceded the opening 40 set win points before rebounding to finish with the remaining 140 set win points. Sandbothe, who earned MVP 2 honors, led all players with 320 leaderboard points, while Benson collected 312 points on the strength of receiving MVP 1 distinction. Drews led her team in the loss with 182 points, including 20 points as the MVP 3 recipient.