Nike Cross Court Classic – 16 Open – Right Sides

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most traditional tournaments annually held in Houston, the Nike Cross Court Classic was played this past weekend at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown, with as many as 675 teams getting on the court.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The gigantic tournament had 19 different divisions and Prep Dig was in attendance for the Saturday AM wave, paying special attention to the teams from the Lone Star State that were in action in the 15 Open and 16 Open divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-photo-gallery/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Nike Cross Court Classic - 16 Open - Photo Gallery</strong></a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Several players stood out with strong performances for their teams and we're taking the week to recognize each of them. These were some of the most productive right side hitters in the 16 Open Division:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Sophia Ely","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Vista Ridge","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Texas Fury","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Ely offered a steady and reliable on the right side for division winners Texas Fury 16 Legacy. With her great combination of power and skills, she managed to score consistently regardless of the situation. When in system, Ely would make a very strong approach and unleash with her powerful right arm. If the sent went a bit off the net, she would use her vision to hit around the block and target the end line. Besides her efficiency, the right side hitter also made very few mistakes on offense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2adc"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/MalloriHowie/status/1634584545403052034?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/MalloriHowie/status/1634584545403052034?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Kassandra De La Garza","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'7u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Sharyland","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Valley Venon","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"De La Garza was really impressive playing on the right for her Valley Venon - 16 1Red team. Despite not very tall, she was a scoring force for her team with her deadly left hand. De La Garza has all the tools to put the ball down as she would typically make a strong approach, jump well and swing. She has every shot you could think of and is also very deceiving with her shot selection, what keeps opponents guessing. She displayed some good ball control by setting in one rotation and is very good at that too, having registered more than 1,000 assists in two high school seasons.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2b87"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1634625154323042305?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1634625154323042305?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Carli Briese","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Huffman","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"TAV Houston","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"A very physical player, Briese had a good production on the right for TAV Houston 16 Adidas. She's very tall and strong and has a powerful offensive game. Briese can hit higher sets to take full advantage of her reach, but is also efficient hitting quicker ones and hammering the ball down with her quick arm. She's also very intelligent with her shot selection and is rarely blocked, having good efficiency from the left as well. Briese can also seal her area at the net when blocking with her long arms.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2c16"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18938889/640f854da677230f2097fb36' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2c57"} /--> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Positional Breakdowns:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-liberos/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Liberos</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-outsides/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Outsides</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-setters/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Setters</a> * <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-middles/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Middles</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Neal Berry","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Vanderbilt Catholic","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Rise","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Louisiana's Rise 16-1 had in Berry a very important player in their team. Also a talented basketball player, she has a very complete game and helper her team on both sides of the ball. A lefty, Berry was a big part of her team's offense with her high contact point and her ability to find sharp angles. She has a lot of power in her arm, but can also score with tips and roll shots. Berry also displayed good blocking ability, a strong floater serve and good technical skills, playing a big role in the team's passing system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2d05"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1634603592127578113?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://x.com/grtorres/status/1634603592127578113?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"Annika Roberson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2025","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'1u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Benjamin Franklin","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"NOLA","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Another right side hitter from Louisiana with excellent length and power, Roberson featured in NOLA 16 Alyx/Marissa. She was very effective hitting from the right as it was very difficult for opposing blockers to deal with her reach. A lefty, Roberson unleashed a lot of power when she hit angle. She also proved to be a very good blocker as her length and her great reading of the game often created problems for opposing pin hitters.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6410f2f9e2dca"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":341766,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/03/IMG_4411.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-341766" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Houston Stellar 16 Premier vs. NOLA 16 Alyx/Marissa</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->