Recap: Team Abercrombie Outlasts Team Member-Meneh, 73-71

Oct 20, 2024

MESA, Arizona — Led by middle blocker Molly McCage, Team Abercrombie outlasted Team Member-Meneh to claim a 73-71 verdict in a back-and-forth contest in the finale of Sunday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball doubleheader at Arizona Athletic Grounds.

With the result, Team Abercrombie moves to 2-0, while Team Member-Meneh sinks to 0-2 in Week Three.

McCage, the match’s MVP 1 selection, swung at a .400 clip and smashed eight kills in the victory while matching her career high with six solo rejections to secure a season-high 329 leaderboard points.

League newcomer Madi Kingdon Rishel tied her season high with 17 kills and added nine digs to claim MVP 2 plaudits and 217 points, while teammate Willow Johnson tallied a double-double with 15 kills and 11 digs on her way to MVP 3 accolades and 155 leaderboard points.

Captain Brittany Abercrombie finished with 10 kills, seven digs, a service ace and a solo block to guide her team to the victory, while setter Alisha Childress dished out 35 assists. Libero Morgan Hentz chipped in a match-high 12 digs to pace the Team Abercrombie defense.

Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh put down nine kills with six digs and a pair of blocks in the setback, while setter Marlie Monserez registered a season-high 40 assists and 10 digs for her third double-double of the season.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The teams battled to a 48-all tie through two sets before Team Abercrombie rallied to secure the match win with a 25-23 verdict in the final set. McCage led the charge by tallying five kills and three solo blocks in the final frame.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Abercrombie owns the top spot for another day with 2,649 points, while teammate Morgan Hentz slides into the sixth spot. Member-Meneh is the only member of her squad in the top 10, holding fourth place with 1,756 points.

MATCH NOTES

Abercrombie and Member-Meneh met as opposing captains for the first time in their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball careers.
Abercrombie, who upped her record as a captain to 5-0, remains the only player in the league with a perfect match record (8-0).
Abercrombie has now finished with at least 10 kills in all eight matches this season.
McCage became the first AU Pro Volleyball player to reach 100 career solo blocks … The 2023 Blocker of the Year holds a league-best 29 rejections through eight matches.
McCage, who matched the league season high with her six solo blocks, also had six rejections against Team Sybeldon on February 28, 2021.
McCage has tallied 11 solo blocks in her first two matches during Week Three … She enters Monday’s action needing one rejection to match the league record for blocks in a single week, which has been done twice (Danielle Hart, 2023 – Week One; Kayla Caffey, 2024 – Week One).
Johnson became the sixth player in AU Pro Volleyball history to accumulate 300 career kills … She reached double-digit kills for the fourth time this season and also fashioned the first double-double of her AU career.
Kingdon Rishel put down 15 kills for the fifth time this season, the second-highest total in the league.
Childress recorded 30 assists for the second match in a row … It is the 19th time she has finished with at least 30 assists, which is tied for third on the league’s all-time list.
McCage, who earned her first Match MVP commendation this season, now owns 16 career Match MVP awards, which ranks third in league history.
Johnson garnered her 10th career Match MVP award, becoming the ninth player in league history with 10 or more honors.