Mizuno Cross Court Classic: The Defensive Stars
There was a lot of volleyball in Houston this past weekend with the 2021 edition of the Mizuno Cross Court Classic taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center from Saturday to Sunday. The tournament featured nearly 700 teams…
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Continue ReadingThere was a lot of volleyball in Houston this past weekend with the 2021 edition of the Mizuno Cross Court Classic taking place at the George R. Brown Convention Center from Saturday to Sunday.
The tournament featured nearly 700 teams and had divisions from the 11s to the 18s in an infrastructure that had volleyball going on in as many as 85 courts inside the building. We focused our coverage in the 15s, 16s and 17s Open division and will present the top performers during the week.
It’s easy to get impressed by the power of a spike or the grace of a well-placed set, but most of the time neither of those actions is possible if a team’s first touch in the ball, be it a dig or a pass, is a clean one. Libero and defensive specialists are typically the unsung heroes of volleyball teams, so we’ll use this article to give them some love.
Briana Zamora – Libero – Houston Stellar 17 Elite – HS: Clear Creek – 2022
Briana Zamora was one of the most impressive liberos in the Open 17 Division. Playing for a Houston Stellar 17 Elite team that won all but one of its five matches, the 5’4” defensive player was lights out during the event. Briana is very quick and at times it seems she’s in more than one place in the court at the same time. Her positioning and her technique are also great as well, which makes of her a true defensive machine for her team. Her jaw-dropping high school numbers, which include 1,378 digs and 1,604 in three seasons with Clear Creek tell her story fairly well.
Justine Flores – Libero – SA Juniors 14 Adidas – 2025
Playing such a competitive tournament at the Open 15 Division was certainly a challenge for the AS Juniors 14 Adidas team as the players were faced with taller, stronger and more experienced opponents in four of their five matches in the event. Justine Flores was one of the reasons why the team managed to win two of those matches and the libero embraced the challenge and responded with strong performances in the tournament. The 5’3” libero was targeted by several opponents, but delivered with a solid defensive game.
Natalie Perez – Libero – Ignite 171 – HS: Davenport – 2022
Natalie Perez was arguably the top performer in her Ignite 171 team that won two of its five matches over the weekend in Houston. The 5’1” libero played bigger than her size and was a piece of the team’s system during the tournament. Among the most impressive aspects of Perez’s game are her great reflexes, which allowed her to dig really powerful spikes sent her way. She also showed great ball control and great court awareness, two important skills for a libero.
Avrey Keim – Outside Hitter – Austin Performance 15 Adidas – 2024
Avrey Keim played as an outside hitter for Austin Performance 15 Adidas, but even though she clearly showed she knows her way around the net, her main contributions to the team happened in the backcourt. A very good defensive player, the 5’9” Keim has a central role in the team’s serve-receiving and digging efforts and improved the overall level of her teammates with excellent digs and passes. She’s very fast too, but the real foundation of her game is her great technique, a skill that also helps her on beach volleyball tournaments.