MESA, Arizona, October 27, 2024.- The triumvirate of outside hitters Claire Hoffman and Brooke Nuneviller and opposite Brittany Abercrombie combined to post 46 kills with a .421 hitting percentage to propel Team Abercrombie to a convincing 77-53 victory over Team Hentz in the finale of Sunday’s Athletes Unlimited Pro Volleyball doubleheader at Arizona Athletic Grounds.
The win lifted Team Abercrombie’s Week Four record to 2-0, while handing Team Hentz its second consecutive loss in the season’s penultimate week.
Hoffman, the match’s MVP 1 recipient, erupted for a season-high 15 kills while hitting .419 with 11 digs to collect a season-high 429 leaderboard points.
Abercrombie, meanwhile, received her league-leading ninth Match MVP commendation of the campaign with an MVP 2 selection. The first-year AU performer slammed down a match-high 18 kills and hit .432 en route to 380 leaderboard points.
Nuneviller completed the Match MVP sweep after nearly recording a double-double with 13 kills and nine digs, giving the Chandler, Ariz., product a season-best 335 leaderboard points.
Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 39 assists in the victory, while libero Manami Kojima chipped in 11 digs.
Team Hentz was paced by outside hitter Madi Kingdon Rishel, who tallied 11 kills with six digs. Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson added 32 assists, while team captain Morgan Hentz garnered a match-high 18 digs.
How It Happened: Team Abercrombie hit a blistering .533 with just one attack error in the opening set to surge ahead with a 25-12 advantage. Team Abercrombie upped its match cushion to 52-37 after holding off a fierce second set rally from Team Hentz to claim a 27-25 triumph. The squad completed the three-set sweep with a 25-16 verdict in the final frame.
Leaderboard Impact: Hoffman climbed six spots on the leaderboard into third place after her season-high performance, giving her 2,384 leaderboard points. Abercrombie, meanwhile, will carry a 199-point advantage into Monday’s Week Four finale against Team De La Cruz-Mejía.