Pick'Em Right: The Volleyball Scoring System

Win points reign supreme

Before you predict which four athletes will earn the most points in the week it’s important to examine which team you think will win the most sets and matches.

Win points make up 60% of a volleyball player’s score on average (the number varies a bit by sport). This means that before you select your favorites to have a great week on the court, examine the team you think will dominate first.

Each set is worth +40 while match wins are valued at +100 points.

Often teams are most heavily impacted by their captain. This season will return multi-week captains including 2022 Champion Bethania de la Cruz and medalist Natalia Valentin-Anderson who found success in the role. De La Cruz led her teams to a 10-5 record and Valentin-Anderson’s squads were 5-4.

Which #AUVB team would you want to be drafted to?

💛: Dani Drews
🧡: Bethania De La Cruz
💙: Natalia Valentin-Anderson
💜: Lauren Stivrins

Let us know below ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/p89cElbFRA

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) March 20, 2022

Great play = high leaderboard status

Of all the AU sports, Volleyball is most impacted by stat points. The category on average contributes 36% of a player’s point total.

In AU Volleyball’s two championship seasons, the athlete with the most stat points has been the champion. Jordan Larson and Bethania de la Cruz both dominated in their championship years when it comes to stat points – they both had more than 400 stat points than the second-place medalist.

So far both champions have been outside hitters and we’ve seen that position finish as medalists more often than any other position. As you build your four-player roster each week, select one to two outsides because of their propensity for racking up points.

Last night @bdelacruz18 broke *another* record 😳

Her 445 leaderboard points were the most EVER in a single match 🤩 pic.twitter.com/h5NkcC8zgB

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) April 8, 2022

MVP Status

Just like stat points, so far we have seen both the AU Volleyball Champions also rank first in MVP points on the season. While this scoring category typically only accounts for 4% of an athlete’s overall point total, it is crucial across all AU sports to win a championship.

Larson and De La Cruz as well as Cat Osterman, Aleshia Ocasio, and Tianna Hawkins all are AU Champions who were first place in MVP points during their championship seasons.

Three players can receive MVP points every game and it is voted on by their peers. They are awarded as follows:

• MVP 1 +60
• MVP 2 +40
• MVP 3 +20

Scoring System in action

Bethania de la Cruz was absolutely dominant in 2022 with Valentin-Anderson, Dani Drews, and Cassidy Lichtman excelling to finish as medalists.

De La Cruz finished the 2022 season with 4,652 total points. Here is why her ability to excel in all three point categories all but guaranteed her first-place finish.

Win points: 35% of leaderboard total

• De La Cruz was the fifth-winningest player last season with 1,640 win points
• Everyone who finished above her in the category did not have the stat and MVP points to battle her for the top spot

Stat points: 51% of leaderboard total

• This is by far De La Cruz’s most impactful point category as she had the most stat points on the season (2,352 points)
• Dani Drews was second in the league in stat points but still finished 584 points behind De La Cruz in the category

MVP Points: 15% of leaderboard total

• Tack on De La Cruz’ significant MVP point earnings and she impossible to beat for the title
• She had 660 total MVP points

Play to Win

When playing AU Fantasy, you have the opportunity to win three ways:

1. Season Leaderboard: accumulate the most points for the season and tiebreaker
2. Week/Series Leaderboard: accumulate the most points for the week AND win the tiebreaker (leaderboard points)
3. Pick’Em Prediction: predict the top 4 players

Register to play for free now at auprosports.com/fantasy. Season 3 of Athletes Unlimited Volleyball begins on Oct. 6.

Savanna Collins is the Digital Media Reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Twitter @savannaecollins.