Recap: Nootsara Tomkom leads Team Hentz to sweep against Team Hilley

Tomkom, who just missed a double-double with 32 assists and nine digs in the victory, secured the first MVP 1 award of her Athletes Unlimited career to complete the night with 269 leaderboard points.

Outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide followed with her first career Match MVP award after garnering MVP 2 distinction. The former Oregon star tallied nine kills with four digs to secure a season-high 348 leaderboard points.

Middle blocker Molly McCage earned Match MVP recognition for the second match in a row, claiming the MVP 3 commendation on the strength of nine kills and a .471 hitting percentage.

Opposite Willow Johnson paced Team Hilley in the setback with 10 kills, while setter and team captain Sydney Hilley fashioned 33 assists with seven digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Hentz used four kills apiece from outside hitter Alli Linnehan and opposite Génesis Collazo to secure a 25-19 verdict in the opening set. In the middle frame, Team Hentz overcame an early 13-6 deficit to claim a 25-21 decision and extend the match advantage to 50-40. Team Hentz completed the sweep with a 25-15 victory in the final set.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Tomkom elevated her position on the leaderboard 12 places after securing the MVP 1 award on Friday night, moving her into 18th place with 938 points. Hentz, meanwhile, claimed the top spot with a 214-point lead over outside hitter Leah Edmond, who holds third place and plays in the second match on Friday against Team Rosenthal.

MATCH NOTES

• Team Hilley and Team Hentz combined to record five service aces in Friday’s Week Three opener, increasing the league’s season total to 75 aces through 13 matches … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every service ace this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Aces’ initiative.

• Team Hentz became the first team wearing an Orange jersey to win a match this season … It is the first victory by a team donning an Orange jersey since Team De La Cruz defeated Team Drews, 73-64, on April 9, 2022.

• Team Hentz authored the seventh win points sweep in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball this season with its 20-point victory over Team Hilley on Friday night … It is the 23rd win points sweep in the league’s three-year history.

• Team Hentz’s victory over Team Hilley marked the eighth time in league history a team has won by 20 or more points … Team Hentz owns three of those eight instances, including a 78-55 verdict over Team Hilley in Week Two.

• Middle blocker Ali Bastianelli fashioned a season-high six blocks in the victory for Team Hentz, marking the fourth time in her Athletes Unlimited career she has notched five or more rejections in a match … Bastianelli, who entered the night with just seven solo blocks in her first six outings, upped her league-record career total to 70 rejections.

• Bastianelli’s six blocks are the most by an Athletes Unlimited player since April 1, 2022, when she had six rejections against Team Lowe … She owns three of the top six single-match block totals in league history.

• Bastianelli also became the third player in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history to play in 100 career sets.

• Bastianelli posted the first 300-point match of her career after ending the victory with 307 leaderboard points.

• Johnson has tallied 10 or more kills in six of her seven outings this season … It is also the ninth double-digit kill performance in her Athletes Unlimited career.

• Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller has accumulated 10 or more digs in four of her last five contests after securing 12 digs in the loss for Team Hilley on Friday night … The former Oregon standout also registered seven kills.

• Libero Kendall White owns six straight double-digit dig performances after tying Nuneviller for match-high honors with 12 digs on Friday.

• Hilley has finished with 30 or more assists in six of her seven appearances this season, including the last four in a row.

• Tomkom posted 30 or more assists for the third time this year … She has reached the 30-assist mark in 14-of-22 career Athletes Unlimited matches.

• Linnehan, who posted her second match with 300 or more leaderboard points this season, also reached double figures in kills for the second time this season after her 12-kill effort on Friday night … She narrowly missed a double-double after contributing nine digs.

• Libero Morgan Hentz extended her streak of consecutive double-digit dig performances to 18 matches with 10 digs in her team’s victory on Friday night … Hentz also moved into second place on Athletes Unlimited’s career list with 339 digs, passing outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz.

• Middle blocker Danielle Hart, who was inactive for the final two matches in Week Two, returned to action on Friday night and matched her season high with eight kills.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Nootsara Tomkom (Team Hentz, +60)
• #2 – Lindsey Vander Weide (Team Hentz, +40)
• #3 – Molly McCage (Team Hentz, +20)