Recap: Thompson's match-high 24 kills power team to 73-62 win

KEY MOMENT

Team Thompson cruised to a 25-18 victory in the first set before Team Hentz climbed back with a 25-23 decision in the middle frame. Team Thompson held off a comeback with a 25-19 scoreline in the final set to claim the 11-point match victory.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Thompson retains the top spot on the leaderboard and owns a 660-point advantage over outside hitter Reagan Cooper after authoring her third straight 300-point effort. Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel has moved into the No. 4 position and owns a 59-point edge over libero Morgan Hentz.

TEAM THOMPSON NOTES

• Team Thompson improves to 6-1 on the season, including a 2-0 mark against Team Hentz.
• Thompson has collected 300 or more leaderboard points in four of her last six matches after closing Thursday’s win with 360 leaderboard points … She also secured her league-leading ninth Match MVP certificate, including her fourth MVP 1 award.
• Opposite Jordan Thompson registered her 10th consecutive double-digit kill performance on Thursday night … She joins outside hitter Dani Drews as the only players in the league with at least 10 kills in every match this season.
• Thompson also fashioned her sixth match with 20 or more kills this season, including her third outing in a row, to establish a new AU Pro Volleyball Championship record for the most career matches with 20 or more kills … Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía previously held the standard with five career contests of at least 20 kills.
• Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson extended her AU Pro Volleyball Championship record by recording her 37th career double-double, including her league-high sixth double-double this season, after posting 28 assists and 14 digs … It was also her 37th career match with double-digit digs.
• Valentin-Anderson will begin Saturday’s match against Team Drews needing just two assists to become the first player in league history to amass 2,000 career assists.
• Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel put down 10 kills to mark her 21st career performance with at least 10 kills, including the seventh instance this season.
• Middle blocker Elise Goetzinger extended her personal winning streak to seven matches and stands at 8-2 on the season.

Next Match: Saturday, November 1 vs. Team Drews | 7:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. CT

TEAM HENTZ NOTES

• Team Hentz combined for 12 service errors, which are tied for the most in a single match in league history … Team Drews compiled 12 service errors against Team Sheila on April 2, 2022, while Team De La Cruz-Mejía had 12 service errors against Team Nootsara on October 11, 2024.
• Libero Morgan Hentz now owns a 13-12 career record as a captain and has dropped her last three outings in the captain’s seat following a five-match win streak.
• Hentz registered a season-high 21 digs in Thursday’s loss against Team Thompson, marking the sixth time she has surpassed 20 digs in a match during her career … She is the third player in the league with 20 or more digs in a match this season, joining libero Piyanut Pannoy and setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson.
• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía became the first player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to play in 200 career sets … She also registered her 56th career double-digit kill performance, which stands as the league’s all-time record.
• Opposite Heydi Casanova finished with a season-high eight kills after entering the match in the second set … She also added three digs and two solo blocks.
• Opposite Tessa Grubbs started for Team Hentz on Thursday, marking her AU Pro Volleyball Championship debut.

Next Match: Saturday, November 1 vs. Team Cooper | 5 p.m. ET/4 p.m. CT

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Jordan Thompson (Team Thompson), +60 points
• #2 – Natalia Valentin-Anderson (Team Thompson), +40 points
• #3 – Morgan Hentz (Team Hentz), +20 points