Recap: Thompson, Kingdon Rishel combine to lead Team Thompson to 73-58 win

KEY MOMENT

Team Thompson jumped ahead by a 25-18 count in the opening frame before Team McCage claimed the second set, 25-23. Team Thompson opened the final set by collecting 13 of the first 15 points en route to securing the 15-point match victory

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Thompson remains atop the leaderboard with a 703-point advantage over outside hitter Reagan Cooper, who is in second place with 1,632 points. Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson and outside hitter Dani Drews round out the top four spots with 1,558 points and 1,491 points, respectively.

TEAM THOMPSON NOTES

• Captain Jordan Thompson improves to 4-0 as a captain after finishing Week Two with a 3-0 record … She also joins opposite Tessa Grubbs as the only players in the league with a perfect 7-0 record.
• Teams wearing the Gold jersey have won four consecutive matches after Team Abercrombie posted a 1-2 record in Week One.
• Thompson recorded her seventh straight double-digit kill effort after finishing with a match-high 16 kills … She joins outside hitter Dani Drews as the only players to have at least 10 kills in all seven matches this season.
  • Thompson has also tallied 15 or more kills in 6-of-7 contests, which leads the league.
• Thompson garnered MVP 3 plaudits to mark her seventh consecutive Match MVP certificate … It is the fourth time a player has earned Match MVP accolades in at least seven straight contests in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history … Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía owns the league record with eight consecutive citations spanning the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
• Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel matched her career high with 15 digs while adding 13 kills for the fifth double-double of her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career …. She previously reached 15 digs against Team Drews on October 21, 2024.
• Kingdon Rishel claimed MVP 1 honors for her 13th career Match MVP nod, which is tied for the sixth-highest total in league history … She also surpassed 300 leaderboard points in a match for the seventh time in her career, including the second time this season, after compiling 347 points in Thursday night’s victory.
• Outside hitter Claire Hoffman rounded out the Match MVP sweep for Team Thompson with MVP 2 accolades and 274 leaderboard points … She is the 21st different player to receive Match MVP honors this season.
• Libero Justine Wong-Orantes posted a season-high 11 digs for her second double-figure dig effort this season … She previously finished with 10 digs against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on October 6.

Next Match: Saturday, October 25 vs. Team Valentin-Anderson | 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT

TEAM MCCAGE NOTES

• Captain Molly McCage made her debut as a team captain on Thursday night, becoming the 30th different player in league history to serve in the role … Players have authored a 13-17 total record when making a debut as a captain.
• Teams wearing the Purple jersey have now lost three of their last four matches after Team Hentz opened the season with a 3-0 record in Week One.
• Libero Piyanut Pannoy finished with a match-high 16 digs to mark the fifth time this season she has registered 10 or more digs in a match … All five instances have come during her last six outings.
• Setter Micha Hancock totaled 17 assists and 10 digs to post her third double-double of the season, including her second in as many matches.
• Middle blocker Tori Dixon matched her season high with five kills and added three solo blocks in the loss for Team McCage… She has registered at least three rejections in a match three times this year and ranks third in the circuit with 15 blocks this season.

Next Match: Saturday, October 25 vs. Team Cooper | 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Madi Kingdon Rishel (Team Thompson), +60 points
• #2 – Claire Hoffman (Team Thompson), +40 points
• #3 – Jordan Thompson (Team Thompson),+20 points