Cross Court Classic: 16 Open – Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>was a busy weekend of club volleyball in Houston as the city hosted the 2024 edition of the Nike Cross Court Classic, one of the most anticipated and biggest tournaments of the season, from March 9-10.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Almost 700 teams took the courts at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown, competing for two days in one of the 18 divisions of the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/03/cross-court-classic-16-open-photos/">Cross Court Classic: 16 Open - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig was in attendance on Saturday, when we got to watch the pool play matches of the event. One of the divisions we covered was 16 Open, which featured 14 teams, coming from several different regions of Texas. Some players stood out to us for their performances and we're taking the week to report on them. It's time we know more about the middles who left a strong impression with their play at the net:</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":"[player_tooltip player_id='538584' first='Alana' last='Evans']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_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":"Dawson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Stellar","_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":"Evans provided a powerful presence in the middle for division winners Houston Stellar 16 Elite, helping them rank first with six wins and just one set lost. Her physicality was huge for her team and made of the middle an interesting offensive option as few opponents could match her athleticism at the net. Besides getting off the floor well and swinging with power, Evans also displayed an interesting ability to hit different sets with tremendous efficiency. Her blocking was also very productive as she read the game well and moved very smoothly at the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ef728ec4dd0"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17184098/65ed133adfd9e100502a8ebd' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65ef728ec4ef1"} /--> <!-- 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":"Savanah Rivera","_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":"5'11u0022","_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":"Vela","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"McAllen Fierce","_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":"Rivera and her McAllen Fierce 16 Elite teammates had a solid weekend in Houston, finishing third with four wins and just one loss. The tallest player in the team, she provided the team with a much-needed presence at the ball. Playing one age group up, Rivera was very effective with her blocking, moving well at the net and placing her long arms aggressively across the net to stop opponents. 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A new face with the team this season, she displayed an impressive offensive game, which was of great help to the team. Legacy's setter looked to get Leggiero the ball a lot, even in transition plays, and she responded well, swinging with power and precision. 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A very physical player, she has a very heavy right arm and was of great importance to her team offensively, hitting several different sets in the middle with great efficiency. Moczygemba also impacted the game with her blocking because of her ability to move quickly and play aggressively at the net. 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