Natália Zilio Pereira, Piyanut Pannoy, Maddi Bugg, celebrate and high-five in their black and gold AU Pro Volleyball uniforms on the court

Recap: Zilio Pereira records season-high kills in Team Thompson win

Ryan Legarsky

Oct 14, 2025

OMAHA, Nebraska — Outside hitter Natália Zilio Pereira and opposite Jordan Thompson combined for 36 kills, while setter Madi Bugg dished out 46 assists as Team Thompson held off a late rally from Team Valentin-Anderson for a 78-70 victory in the nightcap of Monday night’s
AU Pro Volleyball Championship doubleheader at Liberty First Credit Union Arena.

KEY MOMENT

Team Thompson trailed by a 19-14 score in the opening set before mounting an 11-4 outburst to claim a 25-23 set victory. Team Thompson added to its advantage with a 25-17 verdict in the middle frame, but was unable to complete the three-set sweep after Team Valentin-Anderson held on for a 30-28 win in the final stanza.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Thompson will enter Week Three with a commanding 722-point advantage on the overall leaderboard after closing this week with 2,133 total points. Middle blocker Molly McCage will serve as a captain for the first time in her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career after vaulting into fourth place with 1,274 points.

TEAM VALENTIN-ANDERSON NOTES

Team Valentin-Anderson salvaged the third set with a 30-28 victory, marking the highest-scoring set in the league this season … It also stands as the ninth-highest scoring set in the league’s five-year history.
Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson dropped to 7-11 as a captain in her career, including a 1-2 mark in Week Two.
Valentin-Anderson extended her league record with the 35th double-double of her career after compiling 32 assists and 12 digs … She leads the circuit with four double-doubles in six matches this year.
Valentin-Anderson also increased her AU Pro Volleyball Championship record by dishing out 30 or more assists for the 44th time in 50 matches … In addition, she reached double digits in digs for the 35th time, the most by any non-libero in league history.
Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel became the ninth player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to accumulate 300 career kills after tallying a match-high 21 kills … It marked the fourth time she has surpassed 20 kills in a match during her two-year Athletes Unlimited career.
Kingdon Rishel earned her 12th Match MVP award in 21 career AU Pro Volleyball Championship matches after garnering MVP 3 status in Monday’s setback … She shares seventh place on the league’s all-time chart with outside hitter Jordan Larson, who had 12 Match MVP awards in 2021.
Opposite Khat Bell authored her fourth career double-double with a season-high 14 kills and 12 digs … Bell has finished with 10 or more digs in four of her last five matches, while posting double-digit kills in back-to-back contests.
Bell also added a career-high five blocks in the Week Two finale, joining middle blockers Molly McCage and Sophie Fischer as the only players in the league with five or more solo rejections in a match this season.
Libero Manami Kojima totaled 14 digs for Team Valentin-Anderson on Monday night, marking her 15th career double-digit dig performance, including the third instance this season.

TEAM THOMPSON NOTES

Team Thompson closed Monday’s match with 54 assists, which are tied for the second-highest total in league history … Team Valentin-Anderson registered 54 assists against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on April 8, 2022, while Team King holds the all-time record with 57 assists against Team Larson on March 28, 2021.
After leading her squad to a perfect 3-0 record in Week Two, opposite Jordan Thompson stands as the fourth captain in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to win all three matches during their inaugural stint as a captain.
Opposite Brittany Abercrombie accomplished the feat with three straight wins during Week Two last year, while libero Morgan Hentz fashioned a 3-0 record in Week Two during the 2023 season … Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía went unbeaten in three matches during Week Two in 2021.
Thompson and opposite Tessa Grubbs remain the only players in the league without a match loss through the first two weeks this season … Both players helped Team Hentz win all three matches in Week One before adding a 3-0 record in Week Two.
Thompson’s 2,133 leaderboard points are the most by any player through the first two weeks of a season in league history … Abercrombie previously held the record after accruing 2,075 points during the first two weeks last season.
Thompson finished Week Two with a 722-point advantage over outside hitter Reagan Cooper … It marks the largest margin between first and second place on the leaderboard after two weeks in the league’s five-year history.
Thompson, who joins outside hitter Dani Drews as the only players in the league with 10 or more kills in all six matches this season, closed Week Two with 60 total kills in three matches … She is the second player in league history to register 60 or more kills in a single week after De La Cruz-Mejía smashed 61 kills in three matches during Week Two in 2022.
Thompson also compiled 1,110 leaderboard points during Week Two, marking the fourth-highest single-week total in league history … It is the 17th time a player has amassed 1,000 or more leaderboard points in a single week.
Thompson has tallied 300 or more leaderboard points in all six matches this season.
Thompson notched her second double-double of the season after adding 10 digs to her 15 kills on Monday night … She opened Week Two with 26 kills and 13 digs against Team Hoffman.
Outside hitter Natália Zilio Pereira tallied 19 kills and recorded a .441 hitting percentage against Team Valentin-Anderson on Monday, which are both season highs … It is the second time this season she has recorded 10 or more digs in a match.
Zilio Pereira, who earned her second Match MVP award this season with MVP 1 honors, also compiled a season-high 410 leaderboard points to become the second player to surpass the 400-point mark this season.
Thompson registered a league-best 437 leaderboard points in her Week Two opener against Team Hoffman last Thursday while adding a 400-point outburst against Team De La Cruz-Mejía on October 5.
Setter Madi Bugg dished out 46 assists in Monday’s victory, marking the most assists by any player in the league this season … She is the first player this season with multiple 40-assist efforts.
Bugg’s 46 assists are also tied for the fifth-highest single-match total in league history.
Libero Piyanut Pannoy became the 11th player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to record 20 or more digs in a match after closing Monday’s Week Two finale with 20 digs … She is the first player to reach the 20-dig mark this season.
Outside hitter Maddie Haynes authored the first double-double of her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career after setting a season high with 10 kills in addition to collecting 11 digs … In addition, she also tallied a season-best 235 leaderboard points.