MLK Invitational: Five Outside Hitters to Watch
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The Martin Luther King weekend is always one to circle in the club volleyball season calendar and it’s no different in Texas as the Lone Star State is set to host a big event in the upcoming three-day weekend. The…
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Continue ReadingThe Martin Luther King weekend is always one to circle in the club volleyball season calendar and it’s no different in Texas as the Lone Star State is set to host a big event in the upcoming three-day weekend.
The MLK Invitational will take as many as 279 club teams from several different states to the NRG Center, in Houston, for three days of action and a great opportunity to display their skills.
Prep Dig will be following the action over the weekend, but before we get there, let’s take a look at some talented Texas prospects who will be on the court. Here are some outside hitters you should take a look at:
Klein will be with Houston Stellar 15 Elite in the 15 Open division. She’s an extremely technical outside hitter, who has tremendous ball control and gives the team a lot of passing stability, besides getting a lot of touches on defense. It’s easy to see Klein as a defensive-minded player because of her size limitation, but she’s also very effective at the net. The outside hitter gets off the floor extremely well and has a quick and heavy arm, which she uses to beat blockers and defenders. Klein is also very resourceful and sees the game extremely well, finding good spots to tips and ways to score in difficult situations.
Highlights
A class of 2027 prospect, Rachal will be playing one age group up with Texas Legacy 16 Elite in the 16 Open division. We first took a look at her during one of our Freshman Showcases last summer and saw the potential for her to develop into a solid player, especially on the offensive side of the game. That was confirmed shortly after that as she earned significant playing time at a strong Bridgeland team as a freshman during the high school season. Rachal is extremely physical and uses that to her advantage at the net. She makes contact with the ball at a very high point and is never afraid to swing hard to overpower blockers. Rachal is effective at either pin and has good resources to avoid blockers.
Rogers will be the centerpiece of her team AVA TX 17 Adidas in the 17 Open division. One of the most popular players of her class in the Houston area, she’s a complete prospect, who can do it all on the court. Rogers is incredibly athletic and stopping her at the net is a task not many succeed at. Besides getting off the floor extremely well, she has a complete offense and uses her weapons very smartly to beat blockers and defenders. Because her offense is so good, Rogers’ ball control and defensive efforts are at times overlooked, but she’s very solid and productive on that side of the ball too. The outside hitter has also developed a very powerful topspin jump serve which causes a lot of problems for opponents.
Loyd switched clubs this season, leaving Club South and joining Houston Stellar 17 Elite, which will be in action in the 17 Open division – with her and Kate Valt Kate Valt 6’0″ | OH Crosby | 2025 State TX , the team now has a lot of power at the pin. Loyd is a very strong offensive player and much of her success comes from her shot selection. She jumps well and can swing hard, but what sets her apart offensively is her ability to make contact with the ball at a very high point and see the court well, which allows her to score at a high rate even when out of system. Loyd is also very smart with her approach and never gets in at the wrong time. She also gets the job done on the backcourt.
Highlights
Cook and her HJV 18 Premier team will compete in the 18 Open division this weekend. She has earned a reputation as one of the top pure offensive players in the Houston area and is among the most potent hitters in the region – few players hit the ball as hard as she does. Cook is extremely strong from a physical standpoint and that shows in her game, but she has done a very good job of developing other tools and can now score off of tips and by tooling the block. She’s very efficient from the left and the right and is a player who doesn’t feel the pressure of big moments, often scoring big-time points for her teams.