Legends Classic #1: Outside Hitters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The club volleyball season is officially open in the state of Texas and the Legends Classic #1 was among the very first tournaments to be held in the Houston area, on Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The event reunited eight teams from the region in each of the 17s and 18s divisions at the Open Court Sports Complex, in Katy, and some of the very top prospects from the Lone Star State were in action in the first weekend of the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prepdig.com/2023/12/legends-classic-1-photo-gallery/"><strong>Legends Classic #1 - Photo Gallery</strong></a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These outside hitters were in excellent form on Saturday:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["318128"],"_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 MVP of the recently-ended State Tournament, Thompson continued in great form at the opening event of the club season, leading her team Houston Skyline 16 Royal to victory in the 17s division. The outside hitter was very effective on both sides of the ball and played a big role for her team, giving them defensive and offensive stability. Thompson was solid with her passing and used her lenght extremely well at the net. She was particularly impressive when hitting a quicker set at the pin which gave her plently of options to swing.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9b8f9"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17256557/656e1d107bd2da0bbc5d804b' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9b959"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["201034"],"_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":"After spending the last high school season as a setter with St. John's, Animashaun lined up as an outside hitter with Houston Skyline 18 Royal and contributed to the team's triumph in the 18s division. A player that masters every skill of the game, she did a very good job at the pin and provided her teammates with what they needed to succeed in the division. Animashaun was outstanding at the net, getting off the floor well, making good offensive decisions and swinging hard. She was also very clean on the backcourt, passing and playing defense at a high level.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9b9cf"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["254075"],"_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":"Gittens and her team The Woodlands Skyline 17 Royal experienced the growing pains of a recently-created program, winning two of their four matches at the Legends Classics #1  17s division, but had good things to show for. A long and explosive pin hitter, she showed she can lead the team's offense into the season as she was their most used and most effective attacker at the net. Gittens used her power to score points on most occasions, but also displayed great intelligence and a strong shot selection to put the ball down in difficult situations. She also got the job done on the backcourt with her passing and served very aggressively.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9ba43"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/bailey_gittens7/status/1731666565177761959?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/bailey_gittens7/status/1731666565177761959?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":"Lauren Dale","_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":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Klein Oak","_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":"Texas Legacy 18 Adidas won two out of their four matches in the 18s division and Dale deserves a lot of credit for their results this past weekend. She used to play middle for them, but switched to the pin as the team needed her to be more of an offensive leader for them and the first impressions at the Legacy Classics #1 were promising. Dale used her length well offensively and consistently scored points by making contact at the ball with a high point and finding nice angles, while also making very few mistakes. She also did well with her blocking and was surprisingly productive with her passing and defense.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9bb1b"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/16307737/656d1c13c125070da0f9e9bf' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9bb44"} /--> <!-- 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":"Chloe Popkin","_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":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32564","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Stratford","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Skyline","_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":"Houston Skyline 18 Black had a solid season-opener, with three wins in four matches in the 18s division, and Popkin was a big part of their game. A very technical and explosive player, she was the centerpiece of their playing system and delivered well on both sides of the ball. Popkin covered a lot of court on serve-receive and did a very good job with her passing. Offensively, she was set at the pin, the right and the middle back position and displayed a good combination of power and finesse to beat blockers and defenders even on difficult plays.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9bbdd"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15041222/656e7b7615f77908d008633c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-656f4f5e9bc06"} /-->