Recap: Newcomers Shine for Team Hentz in Season-Opening Victory
MESA, Arizona — Team Hentz used strong performances from newcomers Khat Bell and Marlie Monserez to secure the first victory of the 2024 Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball season, a 71-67 come-from-behind result over Team Valentin-Anderson at Arizona Athletic Grounds on Thursday evening.
Bell, making her Athletes Unlimited debut, garnered MVP 1 honors and 282 leaderboard points after posting a team-high 12 kills with six digs and a service ace. Monserez, meanwhile, also contributed a strong effort in her inaugural AU outing with a match-high 35 assists to claim MVP 3 distinction and 272 leaderboard points.
Outside hitter Dani Drews added nine kills and eight digs in the victory, while team captain Morgan Hentz registered a match-high 21 digs.
Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel, the match’s MVP 2 honoree, paced Team Valentin-Anderson in the loss with a match-high 17 kills in 25 attempts in addition to collecting eight digs. Captain Natalia Valentin-Anderson added a double-double of 32 assists and 12 digs.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After falling behind by a 25-21 margin in the opening set, Team Hentz narrowed the match gap to a single point with its 25-22 triumph in the middle frame before claiming the match win with a 25-20 verdict in the final set.
MATCH NOTES
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Thursday’s season opener marked the first-ever meeting between Hentz and Valentin-Anderson as opposing captains.
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Hentz, who improved to 8-5 all-time as a captain with Thursday’s victory, ended a four-match losing streak as a team leader … Valentin-Anderson, meanwhile, has dropped her last six outings as a team captain and owns a 5-8 career mark in the captain’s seat.
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Valentin-Anderson notched the 20th double-double of her Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball career, extending her league record … She ranked second in the league last year with eight double-double performances.
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Valentin-Anderson has tallied 20 or more assists in all 31 matches of her AU Pro Volleyball career … She also surpassed 30 assists for the 26th time in her career, the most in league history.
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Hentz registered the 29th double-digit dig performance of her Athletes Unlimited career, the second-highest total in league history behind libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto (37) … The two-time reigning AU Pro Volleyball Defensive Player of the Year authored 10 or more digs in a league-best 14-of-15 contests last season.
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Hentz also tallied 15 or more digs for the 16th time in her career, extending her league record.
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Hentz surpassed 20 digs for the fourth time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, remaining the only player in league history with multiple career matches with 20 or more digs … It is the 11th time a player has tallied 20 or more digs in a match in the league’s four-year history.
MATCH MVPS
- #1 – Khat Bell (Team Hentz, +60)
- #2 – Madi Kingdon Rishel (Team Valentin-Anderson, +40)
- #3 – Marlie Monserez (Team Hentz, +20)
