More than a few eyebrows were raised around Athletes Unlimited volleyball when captain Sydney Hilley opted to make rookie outside hitter Claire Chaussee the first overall pick in Week 2’s draft.
That left a superstar with an impeccable track record in AU, Bethania De La Cruz, on the board for captain Morgan Hentz, who unhesitatingly snapped up the reigning league points champion.
On Monday at Legacy Park in Mesa, Arizona, Hilley and her shellshocked mates learned to their dismay why the player known as “Betty” turned out to be Hentz’s best bet.
After a nip-and-tuck overtime first set that went Team Hentz’s way, 28-26, Team Hilley was outscored 25-13, 25-16 in the next two. An aggregate tally of 78-55 left Hentz’s happy crew 3-0 in Week 2 action (losing only one set) and Hilley’s bunch at 2-1.
Bottom line: Simply too much Betty, who recorded an otherworldly hitting percentage of .621 with 16 kills and one error on 23 swings.
While Team Hilley had to keep a wary eye peeled for De La Cruz, veteran opposite Saskia “SassI” Hippe was the difference-making X-factor for the team wearing blue jerseys. The final two points of the OT (and ultimately pivotal) first set came on a sizzling line blast in transition by Sassi that tattooed middle blocker Tori Dixon playing defense in the back row, and on a deep hybrid-float-serve ace by the 32-year-old German national that split passers.
Sassi recorded a noteworthy stat line of 15 kills with two errors on 31 swings (.419 efficiency), two aces and five digs, eye-catching enough to be voted the match’s first MVP. Betty was the MVP2 and Hentz (13 digs and four assists, plus the good sense to draft Betty) the MVP3.
“I was with the Orange team last week and we were struggling a lot,” Hippe said. “Now this weekend was really great with wonderful teammates. I am just thankful that I have this opportunity (with AU) and that I have found my joy for volleyball again. With the team this weekend, our secret, our recipe, was that we had fun together, and that we fought one for the other. I saw so many incredible rallies, which I have never seen in my life, and we had so many of them over these three days. It was just amazing.”
After one week…
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