Recap: Team De La Cruz-Mejía Downs Team Nuneviller, 76-69

Middle blocker Kayla Caffey earned her first MVP 1 honor after totaling three solo blocks with three block assists and six kills to finish the opening day of the season with 263 leaderboard points.

Abercrombie made her presence known in her league debut with 16 kills on a .333 hitting percentage. The top pick in the Week One draft garnered MVP 2 laurels and a match-high 341 points toward the standings.

De La Cruz-Mejía finished with 15 kills, 12 digs, and a pair of service aces to garner MVP 3 laurels and 305 leaderboard points.

Libero Manami Kojima finished with a match-high 18 digs in her AU Pro Volleyball debut for Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller registered 16 kills and 15 digs, while outside hitter Lindsey Vander Weide and rookie libero Mary Lake each contributed 13 digs for Team Nuneviller in the loss.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team De La Cruz-Mejía took the opening set, 25-21, before Team Nuneviller overcame a six-point deficit in the second set, 28-26. Team De La Cruz-Mejía held off the Gold squad, 25-20, in the final set to secure the match victory.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Team De La Cruz-Mejía boasts the top three spots on the leaderboard after the season’s opening night with Abercrombie sitting atop the standings with 341 points, De La Cruz-Mejía (305 points) in second and Caffey (341 points) holding onto third.

MATCH NOTES

• Thursday night’s contest featured the first match-up between Nuneviller and De La Cruz-Mejía as opposing captains.

• De La Cruz-Mejía secured the 28th Game MVP accolade of her AU Pro Volleyball career after being named as the match’s MVP 3 honoree.

• Caffey claimed the third Game MVP honor in her AU career, including the first time with MVP 1 plaudits.

• De La Cruz-Mejía improved to 20-11 all-time as a team captain, extending her league record for career victories as a team leader.

• De La Cruz-Mejía also extended her AU Pro Volleyball standard with the 38th double-digit kill performance in her four-year career … It was also her 20th instance with 15 or more kills in a single contest, which also stands as the most in league history.

• Nuneviller recorded her seventh career double-double and her fourth consecutive match with at least 10 kills and 10 digs dating back to Week Five of the 2023 AU Pro Volleyball season.

• In addition, Nuneviller tallied 15 digs for the ninth time in her Athletes Unlimited career.

• De La Cruz-Mejía’s 15 kills moved her AU Pro Volleyball career total to 605, making her the first player in the league’s four-year history to amass 600 career kills.

• Setter Nootsara Tomkom finished with 33 assists, marking the 20th time she has accumulated 30 or more assists in a match in her AU career  … She is just the second player to achieve 30 or more assists in at least 20 matches in AU Pro Volleyball’s all-time listings, joining Natalia Valentin-Anderson, who has done so in 26 matches.

• Tomkom also finished with a double-double for the 17th time in her three-year Athletes Unlimited tenure … She trails only Valentin-Anderson for the most double-doubles in the league’s history.

• De La Cruz-Mejía became the first player in AU Pro Volleyball to reach 50 career service aces after dropping in a pair on Thursday night.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Kayla Caffey (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +60)
• #2 – Brittany Abercrombie (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +40)
• #3 – Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +20)