With the first week of Athletes Unlimited Volleyball Season 2 complete, Week 2 begins Wednesday night with some fresh faces atop the leaderboard.

The first week delivered plenty of action and movement as players adjusted to the beginning of the season. Bethania De La Cruz currently sits second on the leaderboard with 800 points, 28 points behind newcomer Dani Drews.

Natalia Valentin-Anderson is in third place with 667 points, while Drews’ fellow rookie Lauren Stivrins is fourth with 660.

The competition is tight among the top 10, with Sheilla Castro sitting just six points out of a captain’s spot with 654 points. While Drews and De La Cruz are ahead of the competition by at least 100 points, the degree of separation between the remaining eight players is slim. A total of 92 points separates third place from 10th, meaning that it’s anybody’s game in Week 2.

Just Women’s Sports has a few storylines to follow as the competition gets underway Wednesday.

Can the newcomers keep it rolling?

There were questions in Week 1 about how Drews and Stivrins would fare against stiff competition. The answer? Quite well.

After being selected first overall in the Week 1 draft, Drews overtook fellow outside hitter Bethania De La Cruz for the league lead with 828 total points. Among her Week 1 highlights was a 410-point performance in Game 5. Drews will need to keep it up to hold off De La Cruz, who’s only 28 points behind her and has the potential to break out at any point.

Stivrins, meanwhile, grabbed the fourth and final captain’s spot with 660 points while on Team De La Cruz. She had a solid performance in Game 2, racking up 308 total points off of eight kills, four blocks and three digs. She sits just six points ahead of Sheilla Castro, who will be looking to make the jump while playing for Team De La Cruz this week.

Valentin-Anderson also had a strong first week with AU, highlighted by a 294-point, 43-assist performance in Game 5. She currently leads the league with 107 total assists.

While all three newcomers had a good Week 1, they also were not charged with selecting their teammates. This week, each of them took a first stab at the Athletes Unlimited draft. Their volleyball knowledge will be tested, and their decisions could lead to some shifting on the leaderboard.

What about Sheilla Castro?

After finishing 19th on the leaderboard last season with 2,350 points, Castro is off to a hot start with 654 total points in Week 1. That number is over a quarter of her total production last season and, if she continues on the same pace, she could improve upon last season’s performance by nearly 1,000 points.

She could also make a run at a captain’s spot, as she currently sits just six points behind Stivrins in fourth place and 13 points behind Valentin-Anderson in third place.

Big time players make big time plays.@sheillacastro | #AUVB pic.twitter.com/DVLFgxRrrL

— Athletes Unlimited (@AUProSports) March 19, 2022

Already, Castro has bettered at least one of her performances from last season, recording 11 digs in Game 5,after tying last season’s high the night before with 10. She’s also excelled on her serve, recording four total serving aces, tying her for the lead.

A two-time Olympic gold medalist for Brazil, Castro has experience in high-pressure situations and will be one to watch out for in the weeks to come.

What will it take for Bethania De La Cruz to overtake the top spot?

In short, not a lot. De La Cruz bested her Week 1 totals from last year by 50 points. If she stays on track, she could increase her point total by over 300 points. While Drews got better as the games went on, De La Cruz was more consistent in her point scoring.

De La Cruz also has a high ceiling, having set AU career highs of 21 kills and 13 digs in a single game. Her highest kill total was 13 against Team Lowe, and she matched her dig total with 13 against Team Cruz.

Look for it to be a battle between the two as Athletes Unlimited enters its second week. De La Cruz could have a slight advantage given its experience with the AU draft system. She also has Sheilla Castro as the only carryover from her Week 1 team, and she will be looking to make a run at a captain’s spot of her own. But De La Cruz lost Lauren Stivrins to a captain’s spot and will be working with an entirely new group of players, which could lend Drews the advantage.

Emma Hruby is an associate editor at Just Women’s Sports.

Ticket prices are skyrocketing across the WNBA, with commissioner Cathy Engelbert addressing the surge after several New York Liberty fans wore T-shirts in protest of the increase.

Donning orange shirts emblazoned with the phrase "We've been priced out," New York fans came together to express their frustrations at a recent game.

The WNBA fans' custom shirts referred to season ticket price jumps of more than 250%, saying the Liberty is asking upwards of $30,000 for 2026 renewals.

Some New York season ticket holders noted that their 2026 renewal more than triples the cost they paid for the team's 2024 championship-winning campaign.

The exponential increase isn't just occurring in the New York market, however — it points to an overall rise in ticket prices across the WNBA.

The WNBA's recent ticket surge has seen seats across the league jumping by an average cost increase of 43% in the last year alone.

"In order to fund all these investments that owners are making, and obviously paying the players more which we will do in this next CBA cycle…that's the reality," Engelbert said on Thursday's episode of In Case You Missed It with Khristina Williams. "That's our responsibility as a league and team owners."

Calling the price hikes a result of "simple economics" and "high demand," Engelbert acknowledged the effect on fans, though did not address potential solutions.

"I realize there's some concern out there, certainly that we don't price out our kind of core fan base," she noted.

Chelsea FC is playing it close to the chest, with big-name new signing Alyssa Thompson and previously injured superstar Sam Kerr waiting in the wings as manager Sonia Bompastor teases a 2025/26 WSL season debut for the pair.

Kerr joined the 18-player game-day roster for Chelsea FC's opening-day victory over Manchester City last Friday, but saw her season debut delayed as the Australian remained an unused sub while Thompson greeted fans from the stands.

This Sunday's matchup against Aston Villa provides another chance for the standouts to take the pitch, as the six-time reigning WSL champs hunt another result.

"With Alyssa, we are looking for her to be able to play. We don't have the confirmation yet, but we are hoping for her to be able to play in this game," Chelsea boss Sonia Bompastor said earlier today. "I think she has already shown some good things this week in training, and we can see what she can bring to the team."

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Bompastor went on to call last week's decision to keep Kerr on the bench "my choice," saying "She's doing everything she can to be available for the squad and available to start…. The next step for her is to be involved in a short game in the league, and maybe we'll see that on Sunday."

USWNT fans will not get a glimpse of defender Naomi Girma, however, as the January 2025 Chelsea addition sat out last Friday's clash with a calf injury and remains unavailable.

How to watch Aston Villa vs. Chelsea FC this weekend

With the possibility of Thompson and Kerr taking the WSL pitch, Chelsea will visit Aston Villa at 7 AM ET on Sunday, with live coverage of the match streaming on ESPN+.

Splashy new Gotham FC addition Jaedyn Shaw is returning West, as the No. 6 NY/NJ club preps for a Friday night clash against the No. 3 San Diego Wave — Shaw's original NWSL team — days after signing the USWNT prospect from the No. 11 North Carolina Courage.

"I'm so excited to be a part of this incredible club and community," the 20-year-old said after her NWSL-record $1.25 million transfer to Gotham. "I'm looking forward to playing alongside world class players and giving my all to help the team win another championship."

After finding immediate success with the Wave in 2023, Shaw requested a trade to the Courage in January 2025, initiating what turned out to be a short stint in Cary, NC.

"I've grown so much just over the past few months, being at the Courage," Shaw told ESPN on Thursday. "I feel like I've matured a lot. I've had to experience things that I haven't necessarily experienced in my career and having to deal with those things."

Gotham and Shaw are currently "working toward an updated and extended contract," per a team release on Thursday, with the young attacker looking to boost Gotham's offense while adding to her 16-goal and five-assist NWSL career tally.

How to watch the San Diego Wave vs. Gotham on Friday

Shaw could take the pitch for No. 6 Gotham in her new club's Friday night visit to the No. 3 San Diego Wave.

The match kicks off at 10 PM ET, with live coverage airing on Prime.

The No. 1 Kansas City Current are closing in on the 2025 NWSL Shield, gearing up for a Saturday night showdown against the No. 2 Washington Spirit that could inject insurmountable distance between the Current and the rest of the league.

With a 14-point lead at the top of the NWSL standings, Kansas City has already clinched a postseason berth, and the Current only need only a few more results to secure a franchise-first league trophy.

Even more, KC enters Saturday's match on an 11-game unbeaten streak, with the Current hosting the Spirit at their home CPKC Stadium — a pitch where Kansas City has yet to drop a match this year.

Despite that dominance, it may not be smooth sailing for the Current, as Washington's future is beginning to take shape behind recently returned star Trinity Rodman, whose brace lifted the Spirit over the No. 7 Seattle Reign last Sunday.

"She's not back, because she's a different player," Washington head coach Adrián González told reporters about Rodman's level of play. "After her injury, she's more prepared mentally. She's having enough time to get the minutes, the training, and the exposures that she needs with no pressure."

How to watch the Kansas City Current vs. Washington Spirit

The No. 1 Kansas City Current will host the No. 2 Washington Spirit on Saturday, with the top-tier match kicking off live at 7:30 PM ET on ION.