Lone Star Regionals – 17 Bid – Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown Houston, was packed over the weekend with 80 volleyball courts, which staged the traditional Lone Star Regionals tournament, a national qualifier that attracted numerous teams from Houston and other cities in Texas, such as Austin and San Antonio.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I was in attendance on Sunday morning, following the gold bracket of the 17 Bid division, where the eight best teams in the group battled for a good finishing spot. There was plenty of talent on the courts and I'll take the week to highlight the players that stood out in their positions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Today we'll take a look at some of the middles who made a difference:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["186236"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Langi was on fire for division winners United VBA 17 Purple all day, displaying a strong and productive presence in the middle. She made a huge impact on both sides of the ball and was one of the keys to the team's victory on Sunday. Langi was very active and intelligent with her blocking, using her long arms and excellent jumping to get stops against hard-driven swings, but also to get on the winning side of 50-50 balls or when dealing with overpasses. Her offense was also on point all day as the middle hit a very quick set with tremendous power, making it very hard for opponents to stop her. Because of her great footwork, Langi was always available for her setters, even in transtion.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da589f93"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16284211/645961510dbfec09f4522a92' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da589fe2"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["197070"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"The smooth way in which Carter moved her 6'3u0022 body on the court all day with Alamo 17 Premier was truly impressive and helped the team finish third in the division. Because of her light feet and quick and strong arm swing, Carter was a strong offensive weapon for her team, hitting ferociously and putting the ball down at a very high rate. Her blocking was also a big factor at the net as the middle moved well from pin to pin and used her long arms in a very efficient way, putting pressure on opponents across the net and taking up a lot of space. Alamo's dynamic middle was also strong from the service line, often getting opponents out of system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a03e"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17319472/64580c7802b2180dfc9b2db5' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a05f"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["180088"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Morgan was a stud in the middle for her TAV Houston 17 Adidas team that took second place in the division. She was very active at the net and made a huge impact with her blocking, reading the game well, moving quickly and getting in the way of opposing hitters. Morgan made some last-second movements with her arms up at the net that caught opponents off guard and generated a few more stops for her. She was also very solid offensively, scoring at a consistent rate, and also brought value from the service line, getting aces and making opponents play out of system.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a0ba"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1655232520747720705?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/1655232520747720705?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Other Positional Breakdowns:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/05/lone-star-regionals-17-bid-middles/">Setters</a></strong> <strong>* <a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/05/lone-star-regionals-17-bid-outsides/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Outsides</a></strong> * <a href="https://t.co/ioKdIAgaED" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong>Liberos/DS</strong></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":"Skylar Christopher","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Tomball Memorial","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Texas Legacy","_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":"Fifth-placed Texas Legacy 17 Adidas counted on Christopher's strong presence in the middle to produce a good campaign in the tournament. A very strong player physically, she knows how to use her tools well to make an impact at the net. Christopher is not the flashiest offensive player that will bounce balls left and right, but she puts the ball down with tremendous efficiency and is excellent when it comes to adjusting her approach when the pass doesn't go exactly where it should. She's also a solid blocker, who creates problems to opposing hitters and alters their shots very often.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a15d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17180827/64347887e97ae20608e62e46' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a17e"} /--> <!-- 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":"Madeline O'Gorman","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2024","_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":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"New Braunfels","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"United VBA","_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":"Middle was certainly a position of strength for United VBA 17 Purple as, just like Langi, O'Gorman produced at a very high level during the day in Houston. She played with a lot of energy and was really difficult to stop when she got up at the net to swing. Besides hitting several different sets in the middle, O'Gorman would also be set on the left in one rotation and her efficiency rate there was so high that she was set there for the championship-winning play and sided out. She also had a good impact on the game from the service line and displayed solid ball control when she had to play defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a207"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15735528/64596155ab924804fcd1c61a' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-645a5da58a226"} /-->