Recap: Efficient Hitting Guides Team De La Cruz-Mejía to Victory over Team Drews, 66-64

Ryan Legarsky

Oct 20, 2024

MESA, Arizona — A trio of players finished with double-digit kills as Team De La Cruz-Mejía fended off a third-set push from Team Drews for a 66-64 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball victory on Sunday afternoon at Arizona Athletic Grounds.

Team De La Cruz-Mejía stays perfect in Week Three at 2-0, while Team Drews drops to 0-2.

Opposite Khat Bell finished with a season-high 15 kills on a .351 hitting percentage with eight digs and a pair of solo blocks to garner MVP 1 honors and a season-high 361 leaderboard points.

Outside hitter Claire Hoffman struck at a .435 clip with a season-high 12 kills and eight digs for Team De La Cruz-Mejía to claim MVP 2 honors and 309 leaderboard points, while middle blocker Tori Dixon put down five solo blocks with two block assists, four digs and a pair of kills to receive MVP 3 plaudits and 261 points.

Captain Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía finished with 13 kills and four digs in the victory, while setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson dished out 38 assists with eight digs. Libero Manami Kojima chipped in a match-high 14 digs in the victory for Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller led the way for Team Drews with 10 kills, while setter Sydney Hilley pitched in 30 assists in the setback. Libero Mary Lake paced the squad with 11 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team De La Cruz-Mejía opened up a seven-point advantage with a 25-18 triumph in the opening frame before upping the lead to 50-39 after two sets. Team Drews avoided being swept by picking up a 25-16 win in the final frame, but Team De La Cruz-Mejía held on for a 66-64 match victory.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

De La Cruz-Mejía rose back into the top spot on the leaderboard, but holds a slim 63-point edge over opposite Brittany Abercrombie pending Sunday’s nightcap between Team Member-Meneh and Team Abercrombie. Bell, meanwhile, surged six spots up the leaderboard into eighth place.

MATCH NOTES

Sunday’s opener marked the fifth time Drews and De La Cruz-Mejía have squared off as opposing captains in their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball careers … De La Cruz-Mejía now owns a 4-1 advantage in the all-time series.
De La Cruz-Mejía moves her career captain’s record to 26-12, including a 7-1 mark this season … She has also won eight of her last nine contests as a team leader dating back to last season.
Drews, who now stands 4-10 all-time as a team captain, falters for an AU Pro Volleyball record eighth match in a row as a team leader.
De La Cruz-Mejía reached double figures in kills for a season-high eighth time this season and increases her all-time standard with 45 matches with 10 or more kills.
Hoffman notched her second double-digit kill performance of the season … She also earned the first Match MVP honor of her Athletes Unlimited career.
Valentin-Anderson surpassed 30 assists for the 33rd time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, elevating her league record … She has tallied 30 or more assists in all eight matches this season.
De La Cruz-Mejía became the first AU Pro Volleyball player to record 700 career kills … The league’s all-time kills leader moved her total to 707 kills across four seasons.
Bell has tallied 10 or more kills in 6-of-8 matches this season, including the last five in a row.
Nuneviller reached double figures in kills for the 19th time in her career, moving into a tie for fourth on the AU Pro Volleyball charter … She has finished with 10 or more kills in seven matches this season.
Hilley amassed 30 assists for the sixth time this season and the 19th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, the third-most on the all-time listing.
Team De La Cruz-Mejía finished with a .336 team hitting percentage, which is the best mark by a team this season.
Dixon claimed her first post-match award of the season and the third commendation of her career.
Bell claimed her third MVP 1 accolade of the year, tying De La Cruz-Mejía for the second-most in the league.