Monster Middles Steal the Spotlight at #PDTheOpen

<p>We're heading into some positional features after an excellent display of volleyball talent from the Ohio Valley and beyond at The Open in Cleveland. It's often difficult to know where to start these spotlights, but the middle blocker position feels like a really good launching point.</p> <p>Simply put, we had a large group of middle blockers that knew how to take over matches. Skilled middles know how to do this in a variety of ways, whether it's being able to terminate in different gaps or putting up an ever-present wall in the blocking phase. This feature will talk about athletes who can do a little bit of everything.</p> <p>So, here are a few middle blockers who stole the spotlight at the I-X Center.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Maddy McGath - 6'2 MB - MKE Sting 17 Gold</strong></p> <p>Few middles in Cleveland were as terminal behind the setter as McGath. Her pin-to-pin quickness flourish every time she was on the court, and her skillset is such an excellent fit for the M1 position. Bouncing balls down the line is just a regular occurrence for McGath, who is definitely one of the best uncommitted 2023s I've seen this year.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Ava Kanj - 6'3 MB - Maverick 16 Elite</strong></p> <p>Kanj is a middle blocker with plenty of length who can also get on top of the ball quickly when attacking off of two feet. That's always a good combination of traits for a middle to have, especially given Maverick 16 Elite's desire to run a fast offense. When you get a good pass, you've got to feed Kanj in the middle.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Such an awesome first look at this weekend.<br /> <br /> This duo of Hannah Pattie at setter and Ava Kanj in the middle is rolling! <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/PDTheOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PDTheOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/bG5wDKjKmd">pic.x.com/bG5wDKjKmd</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1520411763338010624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Hatteras Welker - 6'3 MB - Mintonette m.61</strong></p> <p>We're going to talk a lot about middle blockers that are perfect fits for their respective teams, and that's exactly what Welker brings to Mintonette m.61. This team has a long, physical frontcourt, and Welker is frequently an anchor to m.61's stifling block. Her role will continue to grow as Mintonette builds off a runner-up finish in our 16 Open division.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Laurece Abraham - 6'1 MB - Legacy 17-1 Adidas</strong></p> <p>This Yale-bound middle blocker just keeps having one standout event after another. She has been an important part of Legacy's attacking schemes for a long time, and now she's put together another weekend worthy of a 17 Open championship. Her athleticism allows her to terminate on all those "slow-quicks" that 17-1 Adidas likes to run, and the team made good use of that in Cleveland.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Julia Jozefov - 6'1 MB - Southwest 16N Joe</strong></p> <p>Add Jozefov to the list of go-to attacking middles that we saw at the I-X Center. She became the focal point of a Southwest offense that found produced plenty of highlight moments throughout the event. Jozefov also stepped up to seal blocks on either pin and produced a ton of positive block touches as a result.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr" lang="en">Southwest 16N Joe gets a big three-set win to kick off Saturday!<br /> <br /> Julia Jozefov has been so impressive in the middle and puts away match point here. <a href="https://x.com/hashtag/PDTheOpen?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PDTheOpen</a> <a href="https://t.co/84QFJNumen">pic.x.com/84QFJNumen</a></p> — Austin Kingsley (@KingsleyATK) <a href="https://x.com/KingsleyATK/status/1520387236386283520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 30, 2022</a></blockquote> <p><script async src="https://platform.x.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Taylor Bahnub - 6'1 MB - Mintonette m.51</strong></p> <p>It's hard not to be impressed with the talent that Mintonette is building at the middle blocker spot. Bahnub's wingspan gives her an impressive attacking radius that allows her to swing on nearly any set that's given to her. She clearly has the tools to dominate in the 15s age group and will certainly be one to watch from the m.51 squad.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> [caption id="attachment_166591" align="alignright" width="300"]<img class="wp-image-166591 size-medium" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/11/161-Gabriella-Pitcel.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="200" /> Pitcel[/caption] <p><strong>Gabriella Pitcel - 6'1 MB - MKE Sting 16 Gold</strong></p> <p>16 Gold just has a different vibe when Pitcel is in the lineup. She gets up effortlessly and brings a quick arm that can shred any block in front of her -- if she's not attacking over the block already. Pitcel's on-court confidence keeps growing, and she will be a big factor in Sting's 16 Open push at Nationals this summer.</p>