MLK Invitational: 15 Open – Top Outsides

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend, Houston hosted a massive national-level club tournament, the 2024 MLK Invitational, which featured more than 250 teams from several states, with two of the three days of the event taking place at the NRG Center in Downtown.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Texas was represented with multiple teams in every division and some of the most exciting prospects of the Lone Star State got to go on the court and battle teams from other states over three days.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/01/mlk-invitational-15-open-photos/">MLK Invitational: 15 Open - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Saturday, Prep Dig was at the British International School of Houston, where the 15 Open division was played, and got to watch seven Texas teams compete. Several players caught our attention and this week we'll feature them, looking now into the outside hitters:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["443017"],"_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":"One of the revelations of the last high school season, Wright was huge for [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 15 Adidas, leading the team to a campaign of seven wins and one loss and a second-place finish at the MLK Invitational. A strong offensive player, she's been developing her game to a great deal and that showed again over the weekend as she contributed in different areas. Wright was her team's main offensive player and handled the role well, swinging with power and precision and making few mistakes - she was very effective hitting from the middle back position too. The outside hitter has also improved her passing and was very solid with that as well.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe80419fe"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":500460,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/IMG_8565.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-500460" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 15 Adidas vs. Valley Venom - 151 Red</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- 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":"Chandler Carter","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'8u0022","_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 Colins","_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 15 Elite owe a lot of their campaign of three wins and four losses, which gave them a seventh-place finish, to outside hitters Camille Csernik and Carter. The most technical of the two, Carter was highly impactful for her team, contributing on both sides of the ball. Also capable of playing as a libero, she was very productive and consistent with her passing, helping keep her team in system. Carter was also an important offensive weapon for the team, using her technique to score points. Although not very tall, she was great at hitting around the block and finding solutions to difficult plays while also making very few mistakes.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe8041abe"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":500444,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/IMG_8428.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-500444" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">TX Legacy 15 Elite vs. Adidas KIVA 15 Red</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["399116"],"_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 technical and powerful Klein had a big weight in Houston Stellar 15 Elite's fifth-place finish, obtained with five wins and three losses. She was very involved with what her team did offensively and defensively and was their anchor, providing stability and consistency. Despite not being very tall, Klein gets off the floor very well and has a quick and heavy right arm - she also displayed vision and skills to find nice spots to put the ball down when out of systtem. The outside hitter also covered a lot of ground in serve-receive and was very effective with her passing.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe8041b2e"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://x.com/grtorres/status/1746207355937649079?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/1746207355937649079?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["459664"],"_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":"Mitchell was the main offensive player of her AVA TX 15 Adidas team that finished seventh with two wins and five losses. As her entire team, the outside hitter had ups and downs during the day, but was always the player her setter turned to in big moments, getting the job done more often than not. Because of her length and power, Mitchell was able to battle some really big blockers and often managed to find ways to score, be it by finding gaps or tooling them. She was targeted by opposing servers on some occasions and handled it well for the most part.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe8041b8d"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18894134/65a611a72aa8210880196924' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe8041c2b"} /--> <!-- 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":"Savannah Tubbs","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"null","_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":"Bowie","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"CTX Juniors","_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":"It was a difficult weekend for CTX Juniors 15 Mizuno with just one win in seven matches and a 15th-place finish, but Tubbs was still able to leave a positive impression. She played a very physical game at the pin, getting off the floor well and using her quick right arm to tool the block when there was nowhere to go with her swings. Tubbs was frequently used offensively and managed to keep her errors at a very low number. She also did a fine job with her passing, delivering the ball in good spots to her setters on most occasions.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65a6fe8041cbe"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":500475,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/01/IMG_8669.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-500475" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">CTX Juniors 15 Mizuno vs. K2 15-1 Adidas </figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->