Madi Kingdon-Rishel rejoins AU Pro Volleyball for 2025 Championship
After a record-breaking debut in 2024, Madi Kingdon-Rishel is back for the 2025 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball Championship. The former U.S. National Team member and standout from the University of Arizona is poised to bring her all-around game to a competition that saw her rank among its best last year.
Kingdon-Rishel made an immediate impact in 2024, finishing second on the single-season leaderboard with 232 kills. She was one of only eight players to surpass 200 kills in a single campaign. She also etched her name in the history books by becoming the fifth player in league history to earn 10 or more Match MVP honors in a season.
Her numbers were strong across the board. Kingdon-Rishel posted 638 attack attempts, the second-highest total in AU history, and was one of just five players to hit 400 or more leaderboard points twice in a season. Her 242 kills in 2024 were just one shy of the league’s single-season record, and she became the only player to notch three separate 20-kill performances in one season.
In addition to her record-breaking individual performances, Kingdon-Rishel played a pivotal leadership role, earning the captaincy during Week Five and finishing the season with 3,400 leaderboard points, securing third place in the overall rankings. She posted 10 or more kills in 14 of her 15 matches, including nine matches where she recorded 15 or more kills.
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Internationally, Kingdon-Rishel’s credentials are similarly impressive. She was a key member of Team USA, helping the national team win gold medals at the 2018 and 2019 VNL tournaments. Her extensive career has seen her play professionally across the globe, from Indonesia and Italy to Turkey, Azerbaijan, South Korea, and China.
Before her success on the professional stage, Kingdon-Rishel enjoyed a distinguished collegiate career at Arizona, where she remains one of the program’s all-time leaders in both kills and digs. She ranks second in school history with 1,943 career kills and set a school record for career attack attempts. She was named to the AVCA All-America First Team and earned All-Pac-12 honors twice.
For the 2025 season, Kingdon-Rishel will look to build on her breakout year, and she remains one of the most exciting players to watch in the AU Pro Volleyball Championship.
The 2025 AU Pro Volleyball Championship will feature 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). Series ticket deposits for both locations are now available here.
Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.
