Abercrombie shines to claim Athletes Unlimited title

Puerto Rico national team opposite Brittany Abercrombie had a stellar debut in the American Athletes Unlimited women’s volleyball league, taking the title of the fourth edition of the competition, which came to an end on Monday in Mesa, Arizona.

The 28-year-old Abercrombie came out on top among the 44 players who competed in the league this season, becoming the fourth different athlete to triumph – American Olympic champion Jordan Larson took the title in 2021, Dominican star Bethania De La Cruz topped the charts in 2022 and Leah Edmond was crowned in 2023.

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The Athletes Unlimited volleyball league has a unique format, unlike any other tournament, as players earn points individually for every action they make on the court and accumulate them over the five weeks of the season. At the end of the fifth week, the one with the most points is crowned as the champion.

The league has a 44-player roster, which is used to form four different teams every week – four players are designated as captains each week and get to draft their teammates a few days before the start of the matches of that week.

In 2024, her first season in the league, Abercrombie was extremely efficient, winning 13 of the 15 matches she played at. The Puerto Rican was a team captain in four of the five weeks and ended the season with 4,521 points accumulated.

“It’s incredible,” Abercrombie said after the final match of the season. “There was a lot of hard work and I have to thank my teammates for doing so well throughout the whole season. It feels unbelievable, I didn’t expect this coming here.”

The 2022 champion, De La Cruz was her main competitor. After playing on the same team in the opening week, when they won all three matches, the two were on different sides of the net for the remainder of the season. They battled four times, with two wins for each side. In the end, the Dominican finished second, with 4,142 points.

“I’ve been so fortunate to play this league right from the beginning,” De La Cruz reacted. “This league gave me so much joy and I really enjoyed playing here. Finishing this season well has been a pleasure. I’m grateful for the opportunity to play here.”

Rishel, Hentz and Member-Meneh complete the top five

Americans Madison Rishel, Morgan Hentz and Leketor Member-Meneh completed the top five in the fourth season of the league. A 31-year-old outside hitter, Rishel took third place with 3,400 points.

Hentz, a 26-year-old libero who was been with the American national team in the last three editions of the Volleyball Nations League, ranked fourth with 3,291 points. She also set a new record for single-season digs, with 242. Member-Meneh, a 25-year-old outside hitter, took fifth place with 3,252 points.

The Athletes Unlimited international stars finished outside the top five this season, with Japanese libero Manami Kojima finishing seventh with 2,962 points and Thai setter Nootsara Tomkom ranking 25^th with 1,958.

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