Recap: Edmond's dominant performance secures victory over Team Hentz, 70-63

HOW IT HAPPENED

Five different players registered a kill in the opening set, including four kills from Edmond, to help Team Edmond claim the early 25-16 advantage. Edmond added nine more kills in the middle frame, extending Team Edmond’s match cushion to 50-38. Team Hentz salvaged the final set with a 25-20 outcome, but was unable to complete the comeback.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Edmond, who posted her league-high sixth match with 300 or more leaderboard points, begins Week Five with a 265-point advantage over outside hitter Alli Linnehan. Nuneviller moved into the captain’s chair after rising three spots on the leaderboard, entering the final week in fourth place with 2,643 points.

MATCH NOTES

• Team Hentz and Team Edmond combined to register eight service aces in Monday’s Week Four finale, raising the league’s season total to 126 service aces through 24 matches … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every service ace this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Aces’ initiative.

• Edmond and libero Morgan Hentz squared off for the third time as opposing captains this season to wrap up the Week Four slate … Hentz claimed the first two encounters with a 73-64 victory on October 15 and a 75-47 rout on October 23.

• Edmond, the only player in the league to register 10 or more kills in every match this season, ran her streak of consecutive double-digit kill efforts to 17 matches … She owns 29 double-digit performances in 37 career Athletes Unlimited matches.

• Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz moved her streak of matches with 10 or more kills to 20 in a row after her 12-kill performance in Monday’s Week Four finale … She has notched 10 or more kills in 34-of-38 career matches, the most of any player in league history.

• Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson posted her 22nd career match with 30 or more assists after notching 32 assists in the win on Monday night … She will enter Week Five needing just 28 assists to become the first player with 1,000 career assists.

• Hentz owns a streak of 23 consecutive matches with 10 or more digs after compiling a match-high 12 digs in the loss on Monday night.

• Brown has registered 11 blocks with seven block assists over her last three matches … She enters the final week of the season just five blocks away from matching the league’s single-season record, which was set by middle blocker Lauren Gibbemeyer in 2021 and equaled by middle blocker Ali Bastianelli last season.

• Nuneviller is averaging 14.2 kills over her last five matches with at least 10 kills in each of those outings.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Leah Edmond (Team Edmond, +60)
• #2 – Kaz Brown (Team Edmond, +40)
• #3 – Natalia Valentin-Anderson (Team Edmond, +20)