2022 Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season explained

Competition:	Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Season
Gender:	Women
Year:	2022
Size:	240px
Host:	United States
City:	Dallas
Dates:	March 16 – April 16
Venues:	1
Cities:	1
Mvp:	Bethania de la Cruz
Setter:	Natalia Valentín-Anderson
Outside Spikers:	Bethania de la Cruz Dani Drews
Middle Blockers:	Molly McCage Jenna Rosenthal
Opposite Spiker:	Sheilla Castro
Libero:	Morgan Hentz
Matches:	30
Website:	AU Unlimited Volleyball
Last:	2021 Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season
Next:	2023 Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season

The 2022 Athletes Unlimited Volleyball season was the Athletes Unlimited Volleyball's second season in existence. The season was played in Dallas, Texas and ran from March 16, 2022 to April 16, 2022.

Bethania de la Cruz was the overall season winner - finishing with 4,652 points.^[1]

2022 Roster

!Name!Position!College!2021-2022 Club

Ali Bastianelli	Middle Blocker	Illinois	Atenienses De Manati
Amanda Benson	Libero	Oregon
Tina Boe	Middle Blocker	Denver	Denver Pioneers
Taylor Bruns Tegenrot	Setter	South Carolina	Goteborg Volleybollklubb
Sheilla Castro	Outside hitter/Opposite
Alisha Glass Childress	Setter	Penn State
Naya Crittenden	Opposite	Oregon/Illinois	Sarıyer Belediyespor
Aury Cruz	Outside hitter	Florida	Valencianas de Juncos
Bethania de la Cruz	Outside hitter		Altay VC
Tori Dilfer	Setter	Louisville	Louisville Cardinals
Dani Drews	Outside Hitter	Utah	KPS Chemik Police
Leah Edmond	Outside Hitter	Kentucky	Valencianas de Juncos
Erin Fairs	Outside Hitter	USF/Kentucky
Rachael Fara	Middle Blocker	Northwestern/Dayton/ Colorado
Falyn Fonoimoana	Opposite	USC
Taylor Fricano	Opposite	North Carolina	Olimpia Teodora Ravenna
Morgan Hentz	Libero	Stanford
Cassidy Lichtman	Outside hitter	Stanford
Hana Lishman	Libero	Pepperdine
Carli Lloyd	Setter	California	Athletes Unlimited
Karsta Lowe	Opposite	UCLA	Changas de Naranjito
Kalei Mau	Outside Hitter	Minnesota/Arizona	Athletes Unlimited
Molly McCage	Middle Blocker	Texas	Athletes Unlimited
Deja McClendon	Outside Hitter	Penn State	Athletes Unlimited
Sha'Dare McNeal	Opposite	Texas
Taylor Morgan	Middle Blocker	Minnesota	Athletes Unlimited
Valerie Nichol	Setter	Purdue	Athletes Unlimited
Jamie Peterson	Outside Hitter	Dayton	Dayton Flyers
Jenna Rosenthal	Middle Blocker	Marquette
Taylor Sandbothe	Middle Blocker	Ohio State	Valencianas de Juncos
Ray Santos	Setter	Arkansas	Pinkin de Corozal
Noami Santos-Lamb	Outside Hitter	Florida	Changas de Naranjito
Lindsay Stalzer	Outside Hitter	Bradley	Atenienses De Manati
Lauren Stivrins	Middle Blocker	Nebraska	Nebraska Cornhuskers
Ronika Stone	Middle Blocker	Oregon	Pinkin de Corozal
Lianna Sybeldon	Middle Blocker	Washington	Athletes Unlimited
Nootsara Tomkom	Setter		Diamond Food
Natalia Valentín-Anderson	Setter	FIU	Valencianas de Juncos
Madison Villines	Outside Hitter	Kansas	Changas de Naranjito
Nomaris Vélez Agosto	Libero		Changas de Naranjito
Emma Willis	Middle Blocker	Denver
Erica Wilson	Opposite Hitter	Arizona State	Athletes Unlimited
Niki Withers	Opposite	Cal State Fullerton/USC
Eri Xue	Middle Blocker	Long Beach State	Liaoning Huajun

Scoring system

Unlike traditional volleyball which is best-of-5 sets, matches in Athletes Unlimited always play three sets. A team does not necessarily have to win the majority or all of the sets as the winner is determined based on the final overall score. If the teams are tied after 3 sets, a tie breaking fourth set (referred to as the "Golden Set) is played. The Golden Set goes to 5 points and must win by two.^[2]

MVP Points

After each match, players and members of The Unlimited Club vote for three players who had standout performances.MVP points are awarded as follows:

• MVP 1: +60 points
• MVP 2: +40 points
• MVP 3: +20 points

Individual stats

In addition to team points and MVP points, players earn points based on their offensive and defensive performance.

The breakdown for individual points is as follows:

• Serving: Ace + 12, Error -8
• Service error (-8)
• Attack: Kill + 8, Error -12
• Set: Assist + 1, Error -12
• Dig: Dig + 5, No Errors
• Pass: Good pass + 2, Error -12
• Block: Stuff + 12, No Errors

Captains

At the conclusion of each week, the top four point scorers are named team captains. Each captain is assigned to a team color based on their standing. Captains then choose their team in a weekly draft.

• No. 1: Gold
• No. 2: Orange
• No. 3: Blue
• No. 4: Purple
• Week 1 Captains: Bethania de la Cruz, Aury Cruz, Karsta Lowe, and Deja McClendon^[3]
• Week 2 Captains: Dani Drews, Bethania de la Cruz, Natalia Valentín-Anderson, and Lauren Stivrins
• Week 3 Captains: Bethania de la Cruz, Karsta Lowe, Dani Drews, and Sheilla Castro
• Week 4 Captains: Dani Drews, Bethania de la Cruz, Sheilla Castro, and Natalia Valentín-Anderson
• Week 5 Captains: Bethania de la Cruz, Dani Drews, Natalia Valentín-Anderson, and Cassidy Lichtman

Games

Week 1

|-| rowspan=2 | Wednesday, March 16| 5:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Lowe| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Cruz| YouTube| 77–74 (27–25, 25–27, 25–22)| Karsta Lowe (22)| Ali Bastianelli (3)| Carli Lloyd (40)| Amanda Benson (19)|-| 7:30 PM| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| vs| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team McClendon| Bally Sports| 68–59 (25–13, 18–25, 25–21)| Dani Drews (10)| Lauren Stivrins (4)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (28)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (16)|-| rowspan=2 | Friday, March 18| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team McClendon| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Cruz| FS1| 71–68 (25–17, 22–25, 24–26)| Aury Cruz (15)| Taylor Morgan
Molly McCage
Dani Drews (3)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (35)| Morgan Hentz (18)|-| 8:30 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Lowe| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| FS2| 74–78 (24–26, 21–25, 29–27)| Karsta Lowe
Lindsay Stalzer
Bethania de la Cruz (13)| Lauren Stivrins (4)| Carli Lloyd (35)| Amanda Benson (17)|-| rowspan=2 | Saturday, March 19| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team McClendon| vs| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Lowe| FS2| 76–58(25–23, 26–24, 25–11)| Dani Drews (16)| Rachael Fara (3)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (43)| Carli Lloyd
Nomaris Velez Agosto (13)|-| 9:30 p.m.| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Cruz| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| Bally Sports| 69–71 (19–25, 25–23, 25–23)| Kalei Mau
Falyn Fonoimoana
Madison Villindes (10)| Molly McCage (4)| Nootsara Tomkom (28)| Morgan Hentz (16)

Week 2

|-| rowspan=2 | Wednesday, March 23| 6:30 p.m.| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Natalia Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| YouTube| 75–80 (23–25, 20–25, 32–30)| Bethania de la Cruz (22)| Ali Bastianelli (5)| Nootsara Tomkom (45)| Nomaris Velez Agosto
Bethania de la Cruz (18)|-| 7:30 PM| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| vs| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Stivrins| Bally Sports| 69–64 (19–25, 25–22, 25–17)| Dani Drews (16)| Taylor Morgan
Jenna Rosenthal
Ronika Stone (3)| Carli Lloyd (27)| Amanda Benson (17)|-| rowspan=2 | Friday, March 25| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Stivrins| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| FS2| 71–70 (26–24, 25–21, 20–25)| Bethania de la Cruz (27)| Eri Xue (4)| Nootsara Tomkom (43)| Erin Fairs (19)|-| 8:30 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| FS2| 70–66 (25–21, 20–25, 25–20)| Karsta Lowe
Dani Drews (18)| Taylor Morgan
Ali Bastianelli
Carli Lloyd
Taylor Sandbothe
Madison Villines
Jenna Rosenthal (2)| Carli Lloyd
Natalia Valentín-Anderson (33)| Amanda Benson (19)|-| rowspan=2 | Saturday, March 26| 6:30 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Stivrins| vs| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| FS2| 70–73 (22–25, 23–25, 25–23)| Leah Edmond (19)| Madison Villines (3)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (37)| Morgan Hentz (16)|-| 9:00 PM| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| Bally Sports| 68–57 (18–25, 25–9, 25–23)| Sheilla Castro (17)| Bethania de la Cruz (3)| Nootsara Tomkom (36)| Nomaris Velez Agosto (12)

Week 3

|-| rowspan=2 | Wednesday, March 30| 5:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Drews| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Lowe| YouTube| 75–66 (25–27, 25–21, 25–18)| Leah Edmond (18)| Karsta Lowe
Madison Villines
Ronika Stone
Leah Edmond
Dani Drews (2)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (41)| Karsta Lowe (21)|-| 7:30| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| vs| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| Bally Sports| 61–72 (25–22, 18–25, 25–18)| Sheilla Castro (16)| Taylor Morgan
Ali Bastianelli (2)| Nootsara Tomkom (13)| Nootsara Tomkom (13)|-| rowspan=2 | Friday, April 1| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Lowe| FS2| 83–81 (19–25, 25–19, 39–37)| Sheilla Castro (23)| Ali Bastianelli (6)| Alisha Glass Childress (37)| Hana Lishman (15)|-| 8:30 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Drews| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| FS2| 77–59 (25–17, 27–25, 25–17)| Dani Drews (20)| Taylor Morgan (3)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (39)| Morgan Hentz (12)|-| rowspan=2 | Saturday, April 2| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| vs| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Drews| CBS Sports| 67–73 (20–25, 25–23, 22–25)| Jamie Peterson
Erin Fairs
Dani Drews (11)| Ronika Stone (5)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (34)| Morgan Hentz (14)|-| 8:00 PM| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Lowe| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| CBS Sports Network| 63–61 (23–25, 15–25, 25–11)| Madison Villines
Bethania de la Cruz (15)| Naya Crittenden
Taylor Sandbothe
Lindsay Stalzer (2)| Carli Lloyd (25)| Nomaris Velez Agonsto (18)

Week 4

|-| rowspan=2 | Wednesday, April 6| 5:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| YouTube| 60–75 (22–25, 16–25, 22–25)| Bethania de la Cruz (15)| Ronika Stone
Cassidy Lichtman (3)| Alisha Glass Childress (38)| Nomaris Velez Agosto (14)|-| 7:30| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| vs| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| YouTube| 61–72 (18–25, 18–25, 25–22)| Dani Drews (18)| Taylor Sandbothe
Jenna Rosenthal
Leah Edmond
Dani Drews (2)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (36)| Falyn Fonoimoana (17)|-| rowspan=2 | Friday, April 8| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| FS2| 72–69 (22–25, 25–23, 25–21)| Jenna Rosenthal
Bethania de la Cruz (16)| Molly McCage (5)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (48)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (17)|-| 9:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| CBS Sports Network| 75–56 (25–19, 25–20, 25–17)| Dani Drews (13)| Carli Lloyd (4)| Nootsara Tomkom (28)| Morgan Hentz (20)|-| rowspan=2 | Saturday, April 9| 4:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Sheilla| CBS Sports Network| 54–75 (15–25, 22–25, 17–25)| Lindsay Stalzer
Leah Edmond (12)| Taylor Morgan
Lianna Sybeldon
Eri Xue
Kalei Mau
Ali Bastianelli
Sheilla Castro
Natalia Valentín-Anderson (1)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (31)| Amanda Benson (17)|-| 7:00 PM| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team Drews| CBS Sports Network| 73–64 (25–19, 25–20, 23–25)| Bethania de la Cruz (18)| Molly McCage (4)| Alisha Glass Childress (33)| Nomaris Velez Agosto (17)

Week 5

|-| rowspan=2 | Wednesday, April 14| 7:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Drews| CBS Sports Network| 71–67 (21–25, 25–19, 25–23)| Dani Drews (15)| Taylor Sandbothe (4)| Natalia Valentín-Anderson (33)| Hana Lishman (22)|-| 9:00 PM| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| vs| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Lichtman| CBS Sports Network| 71–66 (25–20, 21–25, 25–21)| Bethania de la Cruz (19)| Cassidy Lichtman (3)| Nootsara Tomkom (43)| Morgan Hentz (16)|-| rowspan=2 | Friday, April 15| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Lichtman| vs| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Drews| FS2| 68–65 (25–17, 25–23, 18–25)| Leah Edmond (14)| Molly McCage
Lianna Sybeldon (4)| Alisha Glass Childress (22)| Morgan Hentz (16)|-| 9:00 PM| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| CBS Sports Network| 61–75 (19–25, 23–25, 19–25)| Bethania de la Cruz (17)| Jenna Rosenthal (3)| Nootsara Tomkom (42)| Bethania de la Cruz (17)|-| rowspan=2 | Saturday, April 16| 6:00 PM| style="background: purple; color: white;"|Team Lichtman| vs| style="background: blue; color: white;"|Team Valentín-Anderson| FS2| 78–76 (25–20, 28–26, 18–25, 7–5)| Jamie Peterson (17)| Eri Xue
Taylor Sandbothe (3)| Alisha Glass Childress (35)| Morgan Hentz (21)|-| 9:00 PM| style="background: orange; color: white;"|Team Drews| vs| style="background: yellow; color: white;"|Team de la Cruz| CBS Sports Network| 73–76 (23–25, 22–25, 28–26)| Bethania de la Cruz (19)| Ray Santos
Lianna Sybeldon
Erin Fairs
Bethania de la Cruz (2)| Nootsara Tomkom (41)| Nomaris Velez Agosto (22)

Leaderboard

Below is the leaderboard which tallies the total points earned via the scoring system that each player has accumulated during the games that are played each week. The list reflects the final standings.

Rank	Player	Points	Notes
1	Bethania de la Cruz	4,652
2	Natalia Valentín-Anderson	3,337
3	Dani Drews	3,308
4	Cassidy Lichtman	3,279
5	Nootsara Tomkom	3,027
6	Leah Edmond	2,957	Unavailable on Saturday, April 16^[4]
7	Morgan Hentz	2,950
8	Sheilla Castro	2,799	Unavailable during Week 5
9	Ronika Stone	2,784
10	Erin Fairs	2,704
11	Nomaris Velez Agost	2,701
12	Aury Cruz	2,667
13	Lindsay Stalzer	2,604
14	Hana Lishman	2,597
15	Amanda Benson	2,368
16	Jenna Rosenthal	2,348
17	Alisha Glass Childress	2,293
18	Madison Villines	2,267
19	Falyn Fonoimoana	2,209
20	Karsta Lowe	2,131	Did not complete season due to injury
21	Taylor Sandbothe	2,098
22	Carli Lloyd	2,076
23	Ali Bastianelli	2,045
24	Kalei Mau	2,033
25	Jamie Peterson	2,012
26	Eri Xue	1,978
27	Lianna Sybeldon	1,924
28	Molly McCage	1,921
29	Emma Willis	1,898
30	Taylor Morgan	1,839
31	Taylor Fricano	1,819
32	Tori Dilfer	1,728
33	Valerie Nichol	1,661
34	Ray Santos	1,619
35	Niki Withers	1,618
36	Taylor Bruns Tegenrot	1,605
37	Erica Wilson	1,405	Unavailable on Saturday, April 16
38	Deja McClendon	1,379
39	Naya Crittenden	1,347	Unavailable on Thursday, April 14
40	Rachael Fara	1,345
41	Naomi Santos-Lamb	1,194
42	Lauren Stivrins	901	Did not complete season due to injury^[5]
43	Sha'Dare McNeal	802	Did not complete season due to injury^[6]
44	Tina Boe	792

Team Captain Records

Team Captains Records

Team	Record (Win %)	Number of Weeks as Captain
	10–5	5
	4–2	2
	2–1	1
Team McClendon	2–1	1
	5–4	3
	4–8	4
Team Stivrins	1–2	1
	1–5	2
	0–3	1

Awards

The following players were named to the 2022 Dream Team:

• Champion/MVP

• Best setter

• Best outside hitters

• Best middle blockers

• Best Opposite

• Best libero

Hentz was also named the Defensive Player of the Year.

Notes and References

1. Web site: BETHANIA DE LA CRUZ WINS ATHLETES UNLIMITED VOLLEYBALL CROWN. Just Women's Sports.
2. Web site: How We Play -Volleyball. auprosports.com . AU Pro Sports .
3. Web site: AU Volleyball - List of Teams by Week. auprosports.com . AU Pro Volleyball. July 3, 2022.
4. Web site: 2022 Player Status. auprosports.com . AU Pro Sports .
5. Web site: Lauren Stivrins Bio. auprosports.com . AU Pro Sports .
6. Web site: Sha'Dare McNeal Bio. auprosports.com . AU Pro Sports .