Recap: Team De La Cruz-Mejía Picks up 75-55 Victory in Sweep of Team Drews

Team De La Cruz-Mejía evens its Week Five record at 1-1, while Team Drews falls to 0-2 entering the league’s final match day.

Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía struck at a .450 clip and put down 10 kills with a pair of digs to garner MVP 1 honors and 297 leaderboard points, while outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh led the team with 12 kills in addition to adding six digs and four solo blocks to earn MVP 2 accolades and 357 points.

Opposite Khat Bell rounded out the MVP sweep for Team De La Cruz-Mejía with six kills, 12 digs, and three rejections for MVP 3 recognition and 332 leaderboard points.

Setter Alisha Childress pitched in 33 assists, five digs, and a pair of blocks.

Outside hitter Dani Drews recorded a team-high 12 kills with five digs to pace her squad in the loss. Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson added 28 assists and nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team De La Cruz-Mejía used nine blocks in the opening frame to sprint to a 25-16 set victory before increasing the advantage to 50-39. Team De La Cruz-Mejía completed the match sweep with a 25-16 count in the final set.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

De La Cruz-Mejía narrowed the gap at the top of the standings with 3,899 leaderboard points, just 85 points behind opposite Brittany Abercrombie. Member-Meneh, meanwhile, vaulted five spots into the No. 4 position with 2,910 points.

MATCH NOTES

• Drews and De La Cruz-Mejía faced each other as opposing captains for the sixth time in their Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball careers, including the second time this season … De La Cruz-Mejía now owns a 5-1 advantage in the all-time series with a four-match win streak.

• Drews has lost her last 11 matches as a team captain, dropping her all-time record to 4-13 as a team leader.

• De La Cruz-Mejía secured the 30th victory of her Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball career as a captain, the most wins by any team leader in an AU sport … The 2022 AU Pro Volleyball titleist has fashioned a 30-14 career mark as a captain, including an 11-3 mark this season.

• Sunday’s match between Team Drews and Team De La Cruz-Mejía marked the 36th win point sweep in AU Pro Volleyball history, including the 10th this season … Team De La Cruz-Mejía has garnered four sweeps this year, while Team Drews has been swept three times, including both of its Week Five contests.

• The 10 win point sweeps match the AU Pro Volleyball record for most sweeps in a single season … The inaugural 2021 campaign and the 2023 season also featured 10 win point sweeps.

• De La Cruz-Mejía registered a double-digit kill total for the 49th time in her Athletes Unlimited career, including the 12th time this season.

• Middle blocker Tori Dixon broke the AU Pro Volleyball single-season block assists record with 32 rejections after collecting four block assists on Sunday night … She surpassed the original record of 30 block assists set by Ali Bastianelli last season.

• Member-Meneh registered double-digit kills for the eighth time this season, including the fourth occasion in her last five contests … Member-Meneh also set a new season high with four solo blocks after recording just two rejections in her previous four appearances.

• Bell tallied 10 digs for the fourth time this season, including the third time in her last four matches.

• Drews put down double-digit kills for the 24th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, including the ninth instance this season … She ranks third on the league’s all-time listing.

• Valentin-Anderson finished with at least 20 assists for the 44th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, including all 14 contests this season … She has recorded at least 20 assists in every match during the last three seasons.

• Childress crossed 30 assists for the 24th time in her Athletes Unlimited career, including the seventh occasion this year … She moves into second on the league’s all-time charter behind Valentin-Anderson, who owns 38 career matches with 30 or more assists.

• Middle blocker Tess Clark made her season debut during the second set.

• Middle blocker Molly McCage has dropped five straight contests after winning six consecutive matches from October 11-21.

• Bell snapped a five-match losing streak and claimed her first victory since October 20 against Team Drews.

• De La Cruz-Mejía registered at least 100 leaderboard points for the 50th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career, which stands as the most by any player in the league’s four-year history.

• Team Drews combined to accumulate 267 leaderboard points, which is the second-lowest team total in a match in league history … Team Nootsara was limited to just 198 points against Team Edmond on October 9, 2023.

• De La Cruz-Mejía received Match MVP honors for the 35th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career and has garnered MVP 1 plaudits for a league-record 18th occasion.

• Team De La Cruz-Mejía finished the match with a .412 team hitting percentage, marking the third time in league history that a team has authored a mark of .400 or better … It is the second-best single-match hitting percentage in AU Pro Volleyball history, trailing the .427 mark by Team Hentz on October 16, 2023, against Team Hilley.

MATCH MVPS

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