Recap: Team De La Cruz dominantly sweeps Team Valentin-Anderson, 75-61
DALLAS — Outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz registered 17 kills and added 17 digs as Team De La Cruz completed a three-set sweep over Team Valentin-Anderson to close out Friday night’s Athletes Unlimited Volleyball doubleheader at Fair Park Coliseum.
Team De La Cruz, which improved to 2-0 on the week, claimed the victory by set scores of 25-19, 25-23 and 25-19. Team Valentin-Anderson, meanwhile, dropped to 1-1.
De La Cruz posted her fourth double-double in the last six matches after leading all players in the match with her 17 kills and 17 digs. Outside hitter Aury Cruz also added a double-double with 15 kills and 12 digs. Setter Nootsara Tomkom dished out 42 assists and added eight digs.
Outside hitter Madison Villines paced Team Valentin-Anderson in the loss with 12 kills while setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson posted a double-double with 29 assists and 14 digs. Three other players each tallied seven kills in the loss.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Team De La Cruz used six kills from its captain and five more kills from Cruz to clinch a 25-19 victory in the opening set. The squad upped its advantage to 50-42 by taking a 25-23 victory in the middle frame and completed the sweep with a 25-19 result in the final set.
MATCH NOTES
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Team De La Cruz became the sixth team this season to record a sweep of all 180 win points, including the third squad in the last two weeks.
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De La Cruz broke her own single-match leaderboard point record by finishing with 477 points, including 237 stat points … She set the previous record with 445 points against Team Sheilla on Apr. 6.
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De La Cruz has tallied 300 or more leaderboard points in five of her last six matches.
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Villines has tallied eight matches with 10 or more kills this season, including the last three outings in a row.
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Cruz posted her fourth match with double-digit kills, including her second straight outing … In the last two matches, she has tallied 27 kills with 26 digs … In addition, Cruz has four double-doubles this season.
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De La Cruz became the first athlete in league history to accrue 400 or more career kills and enters Saturday’s season finale with 407 kills in two seasons … She also became the fourth athlete to notch 200 or more kills in a single season, joining outside hitters Jordan Larson (2021) and Dani Drews (2022) along with opposite hitter Karsta Lowe (2021).
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De La Cruz now owns six double-doubles this season and has registered 10 or more kills in 11-of-14 matches … She also owns seven contests with 10 or more digs.
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Nootsara reached the 40-assist plateau for the fourth time this season, including the last two matches in a row.
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Valentin-Anderson, the league leader with 10 double-doubles, has authored a double-double in each of her last six matches.
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Middle blocker Jenna Rosenthal matched her career high with three blocks in the victory.
MATCH MVPS
- #1 – Bethania De La Cruz (Team De La Cruz, +60)
- #2 – Aury Cruz (Team De La Cruz, +40)
- #3 – Nootsara Tomkom (Team De La Cruz, +20)
POINT-EARNERS
Team De La Cruz secured all 180 win points with its three-set sweep. De La Cruz and Cruz combined to record 829 leaderboard points to lead the team in the victory while Tomkom followed with 310 points. The trio accounted for all three MVP selections. Valentin-Anderson was the leading point getter on her squad with 123 points.
