Recap: Leah Edmond leads team to dominating victory against Team Nootsara

Eric Rhew

Oct 09, 2023

MESA, Arizona — The victory train got going for Team Edmond on Friday night with its Opening Night verdict and just kept going after its win against Team Valentin-Anderson on Sunday evening.

But, even Superman couldn’t catch up to this train on Monday night as Team Edmond handed Team Nootsara a commanding 75-44 decision to open Monday’s Athletes Unlimited Volleyball doubleheader at Legacy Park.

The win allowed Team Edmond to post the first 3-0 weekly record of the young season, while Team Nootsara dropped its finale to end the opening segment at 2-1.

Libero Morgan Hentz anchored the strong defensive effort for Team Edmond with a season-high 19 digs to secure MVP 1 honors and 291 leaderboard points. The former Stanford standout also posted four assists in the victory.

Team captain Leah Edmond led the offensive explosion for her squad with 16 kills and a .520 hitting percentage to garner MVP 2 commendations. Edmond, who received Match MVP honors for the third straight outing, also collected seven digs and five blocks to finish the night with a career-high 424 leaderboard points.

Setter Sydney Hilley completed the MVP trio with 28 assists, 13 digs and two kills to earn MVP 3 recognition and 309 leaderboard points, marking her second straight match with 300 or more points.

Rookie outside hitter Claire Chaussee paced Team Nootsara in the loss with eight kills and three digs, while libero Kendall White notched 11 digs. Team captain Nootsara Tomkom posted 17 assists and six digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Edmond got off to a hot start with seven kills on 11 attempts to guide Team Edmond to a 25-14 victory in the opening set. Edmond added another five kills with five digs in the second frame as Team Edmond extended their match advantage to 50-30 with a 25-16 set victory.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Edmond’s 424-point performance vaulted her into the top spot on the leaderboard with 1,052 points, while rookie outside hitter Alli Linnehan follows in second place with 940 points. Hentz holds third place with a four-point edge over Hilley and has a chance of becoming the first libero in league history to serve as a captain.

MATCH NOTES

Team Edmond and Team Nootsara combined to record three service aces in Monday’s opener, increasing the league’s season total to 23 aces through five matches … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every service ace this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Aces’ initiative.
Team Edmond authored the 19th win points sweep in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history, including the third sweep in five matches this season.
Team Edmond becomes the fourth team in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history to win all three of its matches in a single week while donning the Purple uniform.
Team Edmond established a new Athletes Unlimited Volleyball record for the largest margin of victory with its 75-44 verdict over Team Nootsara … In addition, the squad shattered the league single-match record for fewest points allowed in a match.
Team Edmond became the first team in league history to hold an opponent to under 50 points in a match … The previous single-match low was 54 points, which occurred three times.
Team Edmond held a 50-30 advantage after the second set, marking the largest two-set margin in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history … The previous record was an 18-point cushion by Team De La Cruz, which owned a 50-32 edge against Team Larson on March 8, 2021.
Team Edmond did not commit its first attack error until the second set, connecting on 20-of-36 attempts to open the match.
Edmond became the third player in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history to amass 10 or more digs in 20 career matches after her 16-kill performance.
Edmond’s 424 leaderboard points are the seventh-highest single-match total in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history … She also joins outside hitters Bethania De La Cruz and Dani Drews as the only players in league history with multiple matches of 400 or more leaderboard points.
Edmond’s 1,052 leaderboard points in the opening week of the season rank as the fifth-highest mark in league history … It is also the highest Week One total in league history, besting the 1,021 points by outside hitter Jordan Larson during the inaugural 2021 campaign.
Hentz authored her 17th double-digit dig performance in 18 career Athletes Unlimited matches, including her third outing this season … She remains in third place on the all-time list with 286 digs.
Hentz also reached the 300-point plateau for the third time in her Athletes Unlimited career.
Setter Nicole Edelman-Cagliari dished out a season-high 10 assists off the bench for Team Nootsara.