Recap: Third Time's the Charm for Team De La Cruz-Mejía in 71-65 Victory Over Team Abercrombie

Abercrombie had guided her team past De La Cruz-Mejía’s squad to close out each of the past two weeks. But, a comeback in the second set on Monday night allowed Team De La Cruz-Mejía to surge ahead and hold on for a 71-65 victory to complete the Week Four schedule at Arizona Athletic Grounds.

The win allowed Team De La Cruz-Mejía to end the penultimate week of the season with a perfect 3-0 record, while Team Abercrombie slipped to 2-1.

Opposite Willow Johnson led Team De La Cruz-Mejía to the victory with a season-high 18 kills while hitting .429 with six digs, earning MVP 1 distinction and 352 leaderboard points.

Outside hitter Dani Drews followed with a 14-kill performance to garner MVP 2 laurels. The former Utah standout also chipped in eight digs with a blistering .444 hitting percentage to finish with 336 leaderboard points.

Setter Madi Bugg added a double-double with 38 assists and 10 digs, while De La Cruz-Mejía contributed seven kills with eight digs.

Abercrombie, the match’s MVP 3 honoree, paced her team in the loss with 17 kills and eight digs, while outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller tallied eight kills with 12 digs. Setter Sydney Hilley nearly registered a double-double with 34 assists and nine digs.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Team Abercrombie trailed by five points in the first set before rallying to claim a 25-21 triumph for the early match advantage. But, Team De La Cruz-Mejía stormed back in the middle frame with a 25-20 decision to claim a one-point match edge at 46-45.

LEADERBOARD IMPACT

Drews climbed up the leaderboard seven spots to move into the No. 4 position and earn the right to be a captain for the final week of the season. Abercrombie and De La Cruz-Mejía will remain as the Gold and Orange team leaders, respectively.

MATCH NOTES

• De La Cruz-Mejía and Abercrombie have squared off as opposing captains in the final match during each of the last three weeks … Abercrombie has won both of the previous installments.

• Abercrombie has her eight-match win streak as a captain snapped with Monday’s setback … In addition, her 11-match overall win streak also comes to an end.

• Setter Taylor Bruns Tegenrot also saw her string of eight consecutive victories halted with the loss on Monday night … It was her first setback since October 7 against Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

• De La Cruz-Mejía improves to 10-2 as a captain this season … A captain has now won 10 or more matches in a single season three times in Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball history … De La Cruz-Mejía won 10 matches during her 2022 championship season, while outside hitter Leah Edmond claimed a league-record 11 victories in the captain’s chair last season en route to the league title.

• Abercrombie extended her string of consecutive double-digit kill performances to 12 in a row and remains the only player in the league with at least 10 kills in every match this season.

• Drews posted 10 or more kills for the seventh time in her last 10 outings after closing Week Four with 14 kills against Team De La Cruz-Mejía.

• Johnson also has 10 or more kills in seven of her last 10 fixtures, including four of the last five matches.

• Bugg authored her second consecutive double-double … She earned the first double-double of her AU Pro Volleyball career on Sunday with 35 assists and 12 digs against Team Member-Meneh.

• Hilley has dished out 30 or more assists in 9-of-12 matches this season, including four of her last five contests.

• Teams wearing the Orange jersey own a 9-1 record over the last 10 matches.

• De La Cruz-Mejía has led her teams to at least two wins in each of the four weeks this season, including a perfect 3-0 record in Week One and Week Four.

MATCH MVPS

• #1 – Willow Johnson (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +60)
• #2 – Dani Drews (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +40)
• #3 – Brittany Abercrombie (Team De La Cruz-Mejía, +20)