Week 3 Draft Takeaways: McCage Tackles Her First Official Draft

“It’s funny because I’ve been playing with AU for a long time, so I feel like I’ve sat in this [leadership] role just to help the new captains, but to actually make the decisions is crazy,” she said. “I am so thankful to have Alisha. We’ve been on the PEC together, and she’s an incredibly analytical person… I’m more of a personnel kind of person, so I love the combining of our minds. It’s interesting.”

Her priority was high-scoring pin hitters. With the first pick in the snake-style draft, and six picks before she’d have the chance to make her second selection, she went with one of the most dominant outside hitters from Week Two – Natália Zilio Pereira.

Pereira posted a statement 19-kill performance to close Week Two against Team Valentin-Anderson while recording a .440 hitting percentage. She became just the second player to record a 400+ point match performance this fall with a total of 410, which boosted her to fifth overall on the leaderboard.

To McCage, Pereira’s ability to dictate the tone of a set was the main motivator behind her pick.

“Nati is just one of those people that can dictate a game,” McCage said. “She touches so many balls, she serves well, she passes well, she plays defense well, and the last game that she played in, she was phenomenal, and I just think that she’s just getting started.”

Valentin-Anderson Recruits Proven Winners

Reigning champion Brittany Abercrombie was the first pick for Natalia Valentin-Anderson. Abercrombie is the second-most productive opposite behind Jordan Thompson after two weeks of play with an average of 4.11 kills per set. Abercrombie has been good for 10 kills or more in each of her last five outings and recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 11 digs for Team Hoffman last week.

For the second week in a row, she chose last year’s runner-up, veteran outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz-Mejía, who currently sits at 13th on the leaderboard with 1,054 points. She had a slight dip in production at the end of Week Two after four straight double-figure offensive performances, but is still averaging 3.78 kills per set, is tied for second in the competition for service aces per set. She is also one of the most reliable passers with a 0.51 positive reception rate.

Both stars have in-depth knowledge of AU strategy, and combining that experience with now seven-time captain Valentin-Anderson will make the team a sure threat.

McCage Picks “Sleeper” Pins

While McCage’s draft position may have seemed like a disadvantage, she predicted the way the draft would pan out and intentionally drafted her team around those she considers to be underrated pin hitters. She chose fellow middle blocker Tori Dixon as her second pick, followed by setter Micha Hancock, then filled out her roster with opposites Temi Thomas-Ailara and Khat Bell, and outside Maddie Haynes.

“If you look at my draft order, it doesn’t look like this, but my strategy was to collect pins, and I’m using all of my pins. I think a point-scoring pin is vital, especially as a middle captain,” she explained. “I did go pin-middle-setter, knowing that [the other captains] were sleeping on some of the pins.”

Another part of McCage’s strategy is to mix up her lineup.

“I know that Temi can play both. Khat Bell has been incredible on the opposite side, especially blocking, so my plan is to use my entire roster. I’m not gonna have just a set six.”

Cooper’s Outside-Heavy Offense

McCage’s prediction was proved correct, especially by first-time captain Reagan Cooper. The AU rookie’s roster holds four outside hitters – more than any other team (Dani Drews, Brooke Nuneviller, Claire Chaussee, and herself). This leaves plenty of options for Cooper, who has typically only played three rotations on the court and could use a strong back-row attack option.

Her draft strategy leaves Heydi Casanova as the only opposite on the team, although Drews did show off her versatility while spending some time on the right side in Week Two.

Cooper proved her ability to take over a match by posting three 16+ kill performances in Week Two, and she chose players who will only add to her team’s firepower in Week Three.

Week Three begins Thursday, October 23, when Team Valentin Anderson takes on Team Cooper, and Team McCage matches up with Team Thompson. Matches take place at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Tickets are available here.

Siera Jones is the digital media reporter at Athletes Unlimited. You can follow her on Instagram and X @sieraajones.