Dominican national senior volleyball team player, Bethania de la Cruz won the prestigious US volleyball league, the Athletes Unlimited Championship on Saturday, 17 April 2022. She led with 233 kills and 18 service aces. She had been the runner-up in Season 1 of the championship in 2021, but her numbers in 2022 was superior.
In the Athletes Unlimited Championship, players are scored based on their contributions to the game and the collective achievements during five weeks in which they change teams. In the 2022 competition, De la Cruz served as team captain during the five matches. She won the title by a wide margin, accumulating 4,652 points. De la Cruz was followed by Natalia Valentin-Anderson (3,337), Dani Drews (3,308), Cassidy Lichtman (3,279) and Nootsara Tomkom (3,207).
After her win, the media dubbed De la Cruz “a superwoman playing professionally at the highest level.”
The outside hitter broke multiple records throughout the 2022 season, including most leaderboard points in a single match (477), single-match kills (27), single-match aces (4), single-season aces (18), single-season kills (233), single-season leaderboard points (4,652) and single-season MVP honors (13).
De la Cruz explained having her 12-year-old son, Fer with her during the five-week competition was strong motivation. “It was a really great atmosphere, as well as experience, for him and me,” she said. “He was not only able to be with me at all times, but he was able to be around the game, get to know our players, get to know and learn about the game of volleyball and be around this great atmosphere.”
As reported in Just Womens Sports, every week under AU’s unique points system, the leaderboard shifted and players changed teams. Elected captains selected their teams for the three-game weekly series in a draft.
The format makes winning the AU season, especially challenging. On top of having to form a draft strategy, players approach each week with a different game plan based on who their teammates are. The Just Womens’ Sports feature concludes that De La Cruz excelled under the pressure this season. “Not only did she set a points record as AU champion, but she also earned a league-leading 13 MVP honors and set records in single-match leaderboard points (477), single-match kills (27) and single-match aces (four),” reports the website.
Read more:
AU Pro Sports
Just Women Sports
YouTube
YouTube
Noticias SIN
21 April 2022