Recap: Cooper secures first win as captain, 73-64

KEY MOMENT

Team Valentin-Anderson sprinted to a 25-23 lead in the opening set before Team Cooper rallied by taking the final two frames for the nine-point match victory. The squad claimed a 25-22 verdict in the second set before pulling away in the final stanza with a
25-17 verdict.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Drews vaulted into fourth place on the leaderboard after collecting 288 points in Thursday’s victory, while Sandbothe rose 11 spots into 13th place following her career-high 329-point performance. Outside hitter Reagan Cooper remains in second place on the leaderboard with 1,632 points.

TEAM VALENTIN-ANDERSON NOTES

• Teams wearing the Blue jersey have dropped five of the last six matches, including the last three contests in a row, after Team Valentin-Anderson’s setback on Thursday night.
• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía secured 40 win points in Thursday’s Week Three opener, allowing her to become the first player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to surpass 7,000 career win points … She has now accumulated 7,020 win points in her five Athletes Unlimited seasons.
• Opposite Brittany Abercrombie became the 10th player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to reach 300 career kills after finishing with a match-high 18 kills in Thursday’s Week Three opener … She has now notched 10 or more kills in 21-of-22 matches over her two-year Athletes Unlimited career.
• Abercrombie also tallied 12 digs on Thursday night to register her eighth career double-double, including her second double-double this season.
• Abercrombie received MVP 2 plaudits in the loss on Thursday night, giving her 13 career Match MVP awards.
  Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson extended her AU Pro Volleyball Championship record with the 36th double-double of her career, including her fifth double-double this season, after finishing with 38 assists and a match-high 20 digs.
• Valentin-Anderson tallied 20 or more digs for the second time in her Athletes Unlimited career … She also had 20 digs against Team Drews on April 14, 2022.
  • Valentin-Anderson joins libero Piyanut Pannoy as the only players with 20 or more digs in a match this season.
• Valentin-Anderson has lost three of her last four matches after beginning the season with three consecutive victories in Week One. Libero Manami Kojima authored her 16th career double-digit dig performance, including her fifth in seven matches this season, after closing Thursday’s match with 13 digs.

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

TEAM COOPER NOTES

• Team Cooper tallied 64 digs in Thursday’s Week Three opener, which are the most by a team in a match this season.
• Outside hitter Reagan Cooper made her debut as a team captain in Thursday night’s opener, becoming the 13th player in league history to win their first match in the captain’s seat.
• Cooper has also furnished double-digit kills in 5-of-7 matches this season after compiling 10 kills in Thursday’s opener.
• Cooper also surpassed 200 leaderboard points in a match for the fifth time this season, including four of her last five outings, after accruing 221 points in Thursday’s victory.
• Cooper also becomes the first Orange team captain to win its weekly opener this season … Team De La Cruz-Mejía dropped a 69-63 verdict against Team Kingdon Rishel in Week One before Team Valentin-Anderson fell to Team Hentz by a 75-58 count in Week Two.
  • Teams wearing the Orange jersey have boasted a 3-4 record through seven matches this season.
• Middle blocker Taylor Sandbothe earned the fifth Match MVP award of her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career after claiming MVP 1 honors on Thursday night … She also posted 300 or more leaderboard points for just the second time in her career after setting a new career high with 329 points.
• Libero Morgan Hentz posted 19 digs in Thursday’s match, marking the 50th time she has fashioned 10 or more digs in a match during her four-year AU Pro Volleyball Championship career … She has also tallied 10 or more digs in 22 consecutive matches over the last two seasons.
• Outside hitter Dani Drews completed Thursday’s Week Three opener with 11 kills, marking the 32nd time she has tallied 10 or more kills in a match during her Athletes Unlimited career … Drews and opposite Jordan Thompson entered Week Three as the only players in the league with 10 or more kills in every match this season.
• Drews also collected 12 digs to record her 14th career double-double, including her third double-double this season.
• Drews has also tallied 200 or more leaderboard points in four of her last six matches.
• Drews was honored with MVP 3 recognition on Thursday night, marking her 17th career Match MVP award … She is now tied for fourth place on the league’s all-time chart with outside hitter Leah Edmond.
• Setter Marlie Monserez, who won her fifth consecutive match, surpassed 30 or more assists for the sixth time in her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career, including the second time this season, after dishing out 36 assists on Thursday night.
• Monserez finished with a season-high 242 leaderboard points in Thursday’s victory, marking just the third time she has eclipsed 200 points in a match during her career.
• Middle blocker Elise Goetzinger has won four matches in a row after opening the season with a 1-2 record in Week One.

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

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Taylor Sandbothe (Team Cooper), +60 points
• #2 – Brittany Abercrombie (Team Valentin-Anderson), +40 points
• #3 – Dani Drews (Team Cooper), +20 points