Recap: Team De La Cruz-Mejía Opens Week Three with 72-64 Victory Over Team Member-Meneh

Team De La Cruz-Mejía begins the week at 1-0, while Team Member-Meneh falls to 0-1.

De La Cruz-Mejía amassed a match-high 17 kills with a service ace and eight digs to claim MVP 1 honors and 356 leaderboard points, while libero Manami Kojima added 20 digs for MVP 2 plaudits and 300 points.

Outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh set a season high with 16 kills and chipped in 10 digs to earn MVP accolades and 183 leaderboard points in the defeat.

Bell tallied 12 kills with seven digs and a pair of solo blocks for Team De La Cruz-Mejía, while setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson finished with 35 assists and 16 digs in the victory.

Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel recorded nine kills and nine digs in the loss for Team Member-Meneh and setter Marlie Monserez added 30 assists with a team-high 15 digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team De La Cruz-Mejía took the opening set by a 25-18 count before Team Member-Meneh trimmed the match deficit to 47-43 with a 25-22 score in the second frame. Team De la Cruz-Mejía secured the match victory with a 25-21 triumph in the final set.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

De La Cruz-Mejía returns to the top spot on the leaderboard with 2,277 points, while Kojima and Valentin-Anderson each moved up one spot into fourth and fifth places with 1,611 points and 1,522 points, respectively.

MATCH NOTES

• Member-Meneh and De La Cruz-Mejía faced each other as opposing captains for the first time in their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball careers.

• Member-Meneh, the 25th player in AU Pro Volleyball history to serve as a team captain, made her debut as a team leader on Friday night.

• De La Cruz-Mejía moved her AU Pro Volleyball career captain’s record to 25-12 … She is the second player in all Athletes Unlimited sports to reach 25 victories as a team leader … Attacker Sam Apuzzo, the 2024 AU Pro Lacrosse champion, is the all-time leader with 27 wins as a captain.

• Teams wearing the Orange jersey have won five straight matches after Team Abercrombie went 3-0 in Week two, while teams donning the Blue top have now lost their last six contests.

• Outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine suffered the first loss of her Athletes Unlimited career after opening the season at 6-0 … Opposite Brittany Abercrombie is the only remaining player in the league with a perfect match record this season.

• Monserez lost her sixth straight contest after being on the winning side in the league’s first match day of the season.

• Valentin-Anderson posted her seventh double-double of the season, which tops the league … It marked her 26th career AU Pro Volleyball double-double, extending her all-time lead.

• Member-Meneh surpassed 15 kills for the first time in her AU Pro Volleyball career with her season-high 16 kills … She also posted her second double-double of the season.

• Bell finished with double-digit kills for the fifth time this season, including the fourth outing in a row.

• Kojima is the second player to record 20 or more digs in a single match this season, joining Morgan Hentz (October 11 vs. Team Caffey) … She is the ninth player in league history to achieve the mark.

• Libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto secured her 42nd match with 10 or more digs to increase her existing league record.

• De La Cruz-Mejía became the first player in the 2024 AU Pro Volleyball season to reach 100 kills … She is the league’s all-time leader in the category with 694 kills.

• De La Cruz-Mejía surpassed 15 kills for a league-record 23rd time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, including her fourth instance this season.

• Monserez piloted her second double-double performance of the season … She also finished with 15 or more digs for the first time this season.

• De La Cruz-Mejía claimed her 33rd career Match MVP award, including the 17th MVP 1 certificate … Both marks stand as league records.

• Kojima earned the first Match MVP honor of her AU Pro Volleyball career … She is the 69th different player in league history to receive a Match MVP award.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +60)
• #2 – Manami Kojima (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +40)
• #3 – Leketor Member-Meneh (Team Member-Meneh, +20)