Recap: Team Hentz hangs on to win match over Team Edmond

Eric Rhew

Oct 16, 2023

MESA, Arizona — Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller has received many awards and accolades during her volleyball career, but after leading Team Hentz to its 73-64 victory over Team Edmond on Sunday night at Legacy Park, she added another one distinction to her list – being named an Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Match MVP.

The former Oregon star notched her second double-double of the season to guide Team Hentz to its second straight win to begin Week Two. Team Edmond, meanwhile, dropped to 0-2 on the week.

Nuneviller earned MVP 1 distinction after recording match highs of 17 kills and 13 digs en route to collecting a season-high 417 leaderboard points.

Libero and team captain Morgan Hentz followed with an MVP 2 commendation after notching 13 digs with five assists. The former Stanford standout secured 262 leaderboard points to put her in second place in the league standings entering Monday’s Week Two finale.

Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz joined Nuneviller and Hentz as part of the MVP triumvirate for Team Hentz, matching Nuneviller’s match-high 17 kills while contributing 12 digs for her first double-double of the season.

Team captain Leah Edmond led her squad in the loss with 15 kills and nine digs, while rookie outside hitter Katie Lukes added 11 kills and 11 digs for the first double-double of her Athletes Unlimited career.

HOW IT HAPPENED

De La Cruz guided Team Hentz to a 25-16 triumph in the opening set with five kills, but Team Edmond closed the margin to 48-41 by taking the second set on the strength of six kills and four digs from Edmond. Team Hentz responded in the final frame with a 25-23 victory to secure the match win by nine points.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Nuneviller moved into eighth place in the league standings after rising seven spots with her 417 leaderboard points, while De La Cruz took the overall lead for the first time this season. However, she is just 35 points ahead of Hentz. The top five positions on the leaderboard are separated by just 128 points heading into Monday’s matches.

MATCH NOTES

Team Hentz and Team Edmond combined to register nine service aces in Sunday’s second match, increasing the league’s season total to 55 aces through 10 matches … Aspiration is committed to planting 10 trees for every service ace this season as part of its ‘Aspiration Aces’ initiative.
Outside hitter Lindsay Stalzer made her season debut after appearing in the second set for Team Hentz.
De La Cruz became the first player in Athletes Unlimited Volleyball history to reach 500 career kills with her second kill in the second set, which trimmed the Team Hentz deficit to 23-20 … She closed the night with 510 career kills in 35 matches.
De La Cruz, who also earned the 24th Match MVP award of her record-setting career, begins Monday’s match needing just 175 points to become the first player in the league’s three-year history to reach 10,000 career leaderboard points.
De La Cruz now owns 18 career matches with 300 or more leaderboard points … She has also recorded double-digit kills in 31-of-35 all-time fixtures, while her 17 career outings with 15 or more kills also stands as a league record … Her 12 digs were a season high, marking the 14th time she has tallied 10 or more digs in a match.
Valentin-Anderson surpassed 700 assists for her Athletes Unlimited career in Team Hentz’s victory over Team Edmond … The league’s all-time assists leader extended her record total to 718 assists in just 19 matches.
Libero Nomaris Vélez Agosto has 10 or more digs in 28 career outings after closing play on Sunday night with 13 digs.
Hentz has authored 19 career double-digit dig performances, including her fifth in as many matches this season, following her 13-dig performance … She remains in third place on the league’s career ledger with 316 digs over 19 matches.
Nuneviller has produced 35 digs over the last three matches after securing just 12 digs in her opening two outings … She also has both of her double-double performances in the last three contests.
Nuneviller also becomes the 53rd different player to receive a Match MVP award, including the 16th different player through 10 matches this season.
Edmond, the only player in the league with 10 or more kills in all five matches this season, posted her 22nd career double-digit kill effort … She is now tied with opposite Karsta Lowe for second place on the league’s career double-digit kills list.
Setter Alisha Childress posted 35 assists in the loss for Team Edmond, snapping a streak of four consecutive outings with 40 or more assists.