The first round of matches is in the books, and now Athletes Unlimited heads into an all new second round of pro volleyball competition with new captains and new teams.
The way Athletes Unlimited works is after each three-day, four-team round robin, four new captains — the players who scored the most points — choose new teams. This week, that means that Jordan Larson, Karsta Lowe, Bethania De La Cruz, and Leah Edmond will make their picks at 6 p.m. Eastern Tuesday.
The next matches in Dallas, where the players and organization are housed for the season runs through late March, start Saturday and you can view the schedule here.
Players win points based on quite a few factors, inluding set victories, total match-point wins, and MVP awards that considers fan voting.
Larson, the product of Nebraska and USA Olympian, led with 1,021 points after averaging 4.22 kills per set. She played on Team Sybeldon, which won all three of its matches. She had 120 MVP points, double what the other captains got.
Lowe, the former UCLA star and also a USA national-team member, had 875 points. She averaged 4.78 kills per set, and hit .380. She played on Team Sybeldon.
Edmond, who starred at Kentucky, had 756 points after averaging 3.78 kills and led the competiton with five service aces. She played for Team Clark.
And De La Cruz, the Dominican Olympian, had 750 points and led the series with 44 kills in nine sets, a 4.9/set average. She played for Team King.
Click here for the complete listing of all players’ stats.
The first week’s captains were chosen from their respective performances during scrimmages. The leaders were Lianna Sybeldon, Aury Cruz, Tiffany Clark, and when Ali Bastianelli was ruled ineligible at the last minute, Brie King.
The results of the first week:
Team Sybeldon 73, Team King 53
Team Clark 76, Team Cruz 65
Team King 68, Team Clark 65
Team Sybeldon 73, Team Cruz 65
Team King 74, Team Cruz 69
Team Sybeldon 64, Team Clark 61
Here is this viewing schedule for the next round of matches:
Saturday, March 6
Team Lowe vs. Team De La Cruz, 6 p.m., AU Digital Platforms
Team Larson vs. Team Edmond, 8:30 p.m. , AU Digital Platforms
Sunday, March 7
Team Larson vs. Team Lowe., CBS Sports Network
Team Edmond vs. Team De La Cruz, 9 p.m., AU Digital Platforms
Monday, March 8
Team Lowe vs. Team Edmond, 7:30 p.m., FS2
Team Larson vs. Team De La Cruz, 10 p.m., FS1
The way they have created the teams for AU makes for really, really boring volleyball. There is no team to cheer for. It is as though they felt developing team loyalty is irrelevant.
What are the TV ratings? My guess is slightly above zero. I would be surprised if there were 10K households were watching the matches.