Recap: Hoffman leads Team Hentz sweep versus Team Kingdon Rishel

KEY MOMENT

Led by six kills from opposite Jordan Thompson, Team Hentz sprinted to a 25-20 lead in the opening set before increasing the advantage to 50-42 following the second frame. The squad completed the three-set sweep with a 25-15 verdict in the final stanza as Thompson added five more kills.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Thompson retains the top spot on the leaderboard entering the final match of Week One between Team Abercrombie and Team De La Cruz-Mejía. She holds a 138-point advantage over setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson after closing Monday night’s win with 313 leaderboard points.

TEAM HENTZ NOTES

• Monday’s opening match featured the first all-time meeting between libero Morgan Hentz and outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel as opposing captains.
• Team Hentz set an AU Pro Volleyball Championship single-match record by fashioning a .451 hitting percentage in the win over Team Kingdon Rishel … Team Hentz also held the previous mark after boasting a .427 mark against Team Hilley on October 16, 2023.
• Team Hentz posted the league’s second win points sweep of the season … Team Abercrombie swept all 180 win points in Sunday’s victory over Team Kingdon Rishel.
• There have now been 39 win-point sweeps in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history.
• Hentz secured her fourth consecutive match victory as a captain after losing eight of her previous nine contests … She also posted a perfect 3-0 week as a captain for the third time in her AU career.
• Hentz’s squad authored a perfect 3-0 record in Week Two and Week Three during the 2023 campaign, which were also her first weeks as a team captain.
• Hentz finished Monday’s opener with a match-high 10 digs, marking the 46th time she has reached double figures in digs during her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career … She is now tied with libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto for the most double-digit dig performances in league history.
• Hentz will enter Week Two needing just six digs to pass Vélez Agosto for the league’s career digs record … Vélez Agosto established the standard with 725 digs over four seasons from 2021-24.
• Outside hitter Claire Hoffman authored her fifth career match with 10 or more kills following her 13-kill effort in Monday’s match.
• Outside hitter Reagan Cooper, who earned her first career Match MVP award with MVP 1 plaudits, posted her first double-digit kill output of the season with 10 kills in her Week One finale … She tallied 15 total kills in her first two matches.
• Opposite Jordan Thompson registered 10 or more kills for the third consecutive match after finishing with 12 kills against Team Kingdon Rishel … Thompson’s 52 kills in three matches during Week One are tied for the eighth-highest single-week total in league history.
• Thompson also closes Week One with 1,023 leaderboard points, marking the 16th time a player has collected 1,000 or more points in a single week … It also stands as the 12th-highest total compiled during a single weekly segment in league history.
• Thompson received her third Match MVP award in as many outings after being selected as the MVP 3 choice on Monday night.
• Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson nearly recorded a double-double after dishing out 35 assists with nine digs in Monday’s victory … It marked the 42nd time she has tallied 30 or more assists in a match during her four-year AU Pro Volleyball Championship career.
• Valentin-Anderson also became the fourth player in the league’s five-year history to amass 30 or more career match victories after upping her all-time record to 30-18, including a 5-2 mark in her last seven matches dating back to last season.
• Valentin-Anderson, who received MVP 2 honors, garnered the 12th Match MVP award of her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career to move into a tie for sixth place on the league’s all-time chart.
• Valentin-Anderson also surpassed 300 leaderboard points in a match for the ninth time in her career.
• Middle blocker Tori Dixon has won eight of her last nine matches dating back to last season, including the last five in a row … Dixon contributed four kills with three digs and one solo block in Monday night’s victory.

TEAM KINGDON RISHEL NOTES

• Team Kingdon Rishel lost eight of its nine sets during Week One with the lone victory coming against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on Friday night, which allowed the squad to earn its lone match victory of the week.
• Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel registered her 15th double-digit kill effort in 18 career AU Pro Volleyball Championship matches after closing Week One with 19 kills … It is also the 10th time she has surpassed 15 kills in a match during her career.
• Middle blocker Onye Ofoegbu registered five kills with a .500 hitting percentage in Monday’s loss while adding a service ace and a solo block.

MATCH MVPS

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