Recap:

With the victory, Team De La Cruz-Mejía moves to 2-0 in Week One, while Team Valentin-Anderson drops to 0-2.

De La Cruz-Mejía finished with 19 kills on a .563 hitting percentage and added five digs with a solo block to garner MVP 1 honors and 439 leaderboard points. Opposite Brittany Abercrombie finished with her second 15-kill match to collect MVP 2 plaudits and 349 points towards the standings.

Outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel paced Team Valentin-Anderson with 16 kills to claim MVP 3 accolades and 129 leaderboard points.

Setter Nootsara Tomkom tallied a match-high 38 assists for Team De La Cruz-Mejía, while outside hitter Leketor Member-Meneh also reached double figures with 10 kills. Libero Manami Kojima added a match-high 15 digs in the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team De La Cruz-Mejía opened the contest with a 25-18 win in the first set before overcoming a double set point to take the middle frame, 28-26, to increase the match lead to 53-44. Team De La Cruz-Mejía completed the sweep by taking the final set with a 25-21 verdict.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Team De La Cruz-Mejía owns eight of the top 10 spots on the leaderboard heading into the second match on Sunday night. De La Cruz-Mejía sits atop the standings with 749 points, while Abercrombie and Kayla Caffey follow in second and third place with 690 and 521 points, respectively.

MATCH NOTES

• The contest was the fifth all-time meeting between De La Cruz-Mejía and setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson as opposing captains … De La Cruz-Mejía now leads the rivalry by a 4-1 margin and has won each of the last three encounters.

• Team De La Cruz-Mejía posted the 27th match win points sweep in AU Pro Volleyball history … It is the fifth time Team De La Cruz-Mejía has swept all 180 possible points in a match, including the first time since April 15, 2022, in a 75-61 win against Team Valentin-Anderson.

• De La Cruz surpassed 400 leaderboard points in a match for the sixth time in her Athletes Unlimited career, extending her league record … The 2022 AU Pro Volleyball champion has accounted for six of the league’s 19 all-time occurrences when a player tallies 400 or more points.

• De La Cruz also improved to 21-11 all-time as a captain, including a 7-2 mark in her last nine outings.

• Valentin-Anderson has lost seven straight matches as a captain dating back to the 2022 season … She is now 5-9 in her career as a team leader.

• De La Cruz received the 29th Match MVP award of her AU Pro Volleyball career, expanding her league record … She also collected MVP 1 honors for a league-record 15th time in her four seasons.

• Middle blocker Kayla Caffey finished with a career-high six solo blocks while adding three block assists … She was just one solo block shy of tying the league’s single-match record set by Ali Bastianelli on March 29, 2021, against Team Larson.

• Tomkom became the second player in Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball history to reach the 1,000 career assist mark, joining Valentin-Anderson on the exclusive list.

• Tomkom also registered a double-double for the 18th time in her AU Pro Volleyball career … She trails only Valentin-Anderson, who secured her 21st career double-double on Sunday, in the all-time rankings.

• Valentin-Anderson authored the 27th 30-assist performance in her 32nd career AU Pro Volleyball match … She has recorded at least 20 assists in every match of her Athletes Unlimited career.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +60)
• #2 – Brittany Abercrombie (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +40)
• #3 – Madi Kingdon Rishel (Team Valentin-Anderson, +20)