Recap: Kingdon Rishel, Thomas-Ailara Lead Team Hentz in Sweep of Team Member-Meneh

Team Hentz picks up its first win of Week Four and improves to 1-2, while Team Member-Meneh closes out the penultimate week of the season at 0-3.

Kingdon Rishel, the match’s MVP 1 recipient, totaled a season-high 20 kills on a .364 hitting percentage while adding seven digs and a solo block en route to a season-high 405 leaderboard points.

Thomas-Ailara added a season-best 17 kills on an impressive .500 hitting clip while tying her season high with 12 digs to earn MVP 2 distinction with a season-best 411 points.

Middle blocker Kaz Brown took MVP 3 plaudits to complete the Match MVP sweep for Team Hentz after downing six kills with three solo blocks and two block assists, gaining a season-high 270 points towards the standings.

Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson pitched in 42 assists and a match-high 14 digs, while opposite Heydi Casanova added five kills, four digs and three solo blocks in the victory.

Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh finished with a season-high 18 kills in the loss, while opposite Khat Bell chipped in 10 kills. Setter Alisha Childress guided the Team Member-Meneh offense with 35 assists while contributing 10 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Hentz came out on top after a back-and-forth opening frame by a 25-23 count before doubling its lead to 50-46. Team Hentz completed the match sweep with a 25-20 count in the final set.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Kingdon Rishel surged into third place with 2,654 points after rising five spots in the league standings, while libero Morgan Hentz holds the fourth spot on the leaderboard with 2,549 points.

MATCH NOTES

• Member-Meneh and Hentz faced each other as opposing captains for the first time in their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball careers.

• The match served as the 500th all-time Athletes Unlimited contest across all sports.

• Team Hentz fashioned the 33rd win points sweep in AU Pro Volleyball history, including the seventh instance this season … Hentz has been the winning captain in six sweeps during her tenure as a team leader.

• Hentz ends a four-match losing streak as a captain while moving her career captain’s record to 9-9.

• Each of the last three AU Pro Volleyball matches have concluded in win point sweeps, marking the second time in league history three consecutive fixtures have resulted in a sweep … Team De La Cruz-Mejía authored a sweep against Team Hunter to complete a doubleheader on March 21, 2021, before Team Lowe and Team Larson collected all 180 win points in their matches during the following day.

• Middle blocker Molly McCage established a new AU Pro Volleyball single-season record with her 34th solo block during the third set … McCage also stands as the league’s career leader in rejections and tied the weekly league mark with 12 solo blocks in Week Three.

• Valentin-Anderson authored the 30th double-double of her AU Pro Volleyball career, including her league-high 11th this season … She is the only player in league history to register 10 or more double-doubles in multiple seasons … Valentin-Anderson finished the 2022 campaign with 11 double-doubles.

• Valentin-Anderson has amassed 30 or more assists in 37-of-42 career matches, while posting at least 20 assists in all 42 career fixtures.

• Kingdon Rishel totaled 20 kills for the second time this week … She also had 20 kills on Friday night against Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

• Thomas-Ailara registered the second double-double of the season … She also had 18 kills with 12 digs in Friday’s Week Four opener against Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

• Childress dished out 30 or more assists for the 22nd time of her career, elevating her into third place on the AU Pro Volleyball all-time listing.

• Libero Mary Lake lost her 10th consecutive match … She has been on the winning side in just one contest this season.

• Outside hitter Erin Fairs saw her six-match losing streak come to an end, earning a victory for the first time since Week Two.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Madi Kingdon Rishel (Team Hentz, +60)
• #2 – Temi Thomas-Ailara (Team Hentz, +40)
• #3 – Kaz Brown (Team Hentz, +20)