Rockwood Tournament Monster Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Rockwood Tournament brought in the state's top teams and the middles did not disappoint. From ball bouncing hits to massive blocks, these middles were fun to watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ava Owens -2024 – 6'3” - &nbsp;Nixa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Nixa came in and took care of business only losing to National Powerhouse St. James Academy. Owens is a big middle who gives her team a great blocking middle. In the 2-1 win over Liberty North, she finished with 7 kills but more importantly 8 blocks. She is quick in transition and gives her setter to huge target to feed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":457344,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/Ava-Owens-Nixa-Middle-crop-3226x2118-1694534765.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-457344" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='179749' first='Ava' last='Anderson'] – 2024 – 6'3” - Lee's Summit West</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I remember watching Ava play at state two years ago and thought then she would be a D1 middle. The Mississippi State commit has developed into a tough middle to stop and a huge wall to hit around. In the 2-1 win over Eureka, she finished with 8 blocks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":457346,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/Ava-Anderson-Lees-Summit-West-Middle-crop-3226x2118-1694534839.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-457346" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='220349' first='Teagan' last='Pocius'] – 2026 – 6'0” - Marquette</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The improvement from last year to this year is massive. This year she is not just a defensive stopper out of the middle but a big offensive producer. Teagan is tall, stronger, and has more power. Quick and smart middle who gets to the pins quickly to be a big obstacle to hit around. Already has 60 kills in the young season compared to having 124 last year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":457348,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/Teagan-Pocius-Marquette-Middle-crop-3226x2118-1694534909.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-457348" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='124220' first='Ellie' last='Emms'] – 2024 – 5'11” - Lafayette</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Another player that is making big strides offensively for her team. More of a defensive presence last year but will be more balanced this year. Runs a great slide and 3 balls and is up and early waiting for the quick feed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":457350,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/Ellie-Emms-Lafayette-Middle-crop-3226x2118-1694534970.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-457350" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='219780' first='Chloe' last='Judd'] – 2025 – 6'0” – Nixa</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Probably my favorite middle to watch at the Rockwood Tournament! Fiercely competitive and a hard-hitting middle. Chloe has the look a coach has to love on a player and just consumes instruction from the coaching staff. A huge part of the success early on for Nixa.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":457352,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2023/09/Chloe-Judd-Nixa-Middle-crop-3226x2118-1694535030.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-457352" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->