Recap: Team Abercrombie Sweeps Win Points Versus Team Kingdon Rishel

KEY MOMENT

Team Abercrombie overcame three set points from Team Kingdon Rishel before pulling out a 27-25 win in the opening set. After claiming the middle stanza by a 25-19 count, Team Abercrombie completed the three-set sweep with a 25-22 result in the final frame for the 11-point victory.

LEADERBOARD UPDATE

Alexa Gray rose 28 spots on the leaderboard to enter Monday’s weekly finale in fourth place in the standings with 471 points, while setter Sydney Hilley vaulted 17 spots into fifth place with 464 points. Four of the top 10 spots in the standings are occupied by members of Team Abercrombie.

TEAM KINGDON RISHEL NOTES

• Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel dropped her career captain’s record to 2-3 with the loss in Sunday’s nightcap, including an 0-2 record against opposite Brittany Abercrombie in head-to-head meetings.
• Kingdon Rishel collected 12 digs against Team Abercrombie on Sunday, marking the fifth time she has tallied 10 or more digs in a match during her two-year AU career.
• Opposite Temi Thomas-Ailara authored the seventh double-digit kill effort of her AU career with 11 kills, including a 10-kill effort during the opening set.
• Setter Chompoo Guedpard surpassed 30 assists in a match for the first time in her brief AU Pro Volleyball Championship tenure after finishing with 38 helpers.
• Outside hitter Natália Zilio Pereira tallied her first match with double-digit digs after finishing with 10 digs in the defeat … She narrowly missed her first AU Pro Volleyball Championship double-double after completing the match with nine kills.

Next Match: Monday, October 6 vs. Team Hentz | 6:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. CT

TEAM ABERCROMBIE NOTES

• Team Abercrombie authored the 38th win-point sweep in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history with Sunday’s result … Team Abercrombie claimed four win-point sweeps last season, including a win over Team Kingdon Rishel on November 3.
• Opposite Brittany Abercrombie now stands 11-3 as a captain in her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career after securing her first win of the season … She authored a 10-2 record over four weeks last year, including an eight-match win streak to begin her reign in the captain’s chair.
• Abercrombie also reached double-digits in kills for the 16th time in 17 career AU Pro Volleyball Championship matches, including the first instance this season … She was the only player to finish with at least 10 kills in all 15 matches last season.
• Middle blocker Molly McCage registered nine kills to become the fourth player in AU Pro Volleyball Championship history to surpass 400 career kills … McCage also added two digs, a solo block, and a block assist to earn MVP 3 status and 278 leaderboard points. McCage also registered the 29th match win of her five-year AU career, moving her into a tie for fourth place on the league’s all-time chart with setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson.
• McCage now stands fourth in league history with 16 career Match MVP awards after garnering MVP 3 distinction in Sunday’s victory.
• Setter Sydney Hilley registered 40 or more assists for the eighth time in her AU Pro Volleyball Championship career, which moves her into second place on the all-time list … Hilley also posted her eighth career double-double after accumulating 41 assists with a match-high 16 digs.
• Hilley, the match’s MVP 2 selection, earned her eighth career Match MVP citation … She was a Match MVP choice five times in 2023 before receiving a pair of MVP honors last season.
• Hilley also surpassed 300 leaderboard points in a match for the fourth time in her AU career after collecting 333 points in Sunday’s victory.
• Outside hitter Alexa Gray was recognized as the match’s MVP 1 choice, marking her first career Match MVP award … She fashioned her first career double-double after smashing 13 kills with 10 digs en route to a match-high 378 leaderboard points.
• Nine different players have earned at least one Match MVP award through the first four matches this season.
• Middle blocker Emily Thater posted a match-high four solo blocks to aid Team Abercrombie in the victory, marking the fifth time she has tallied four or more solo rejections in a match during her AU career.

Next Match: Monday, October 6 vs. Team De La Cruz-Mejía | 9 p.m. ET/8 p.m. CT

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Alexa Gray (Team Abercrombie), +60 points
• #2 – Sydney Hilley (Team Abercrombie), +40 points
• #3 – Molly McCage (Team Abercrombie), +20 points