Cross Court Classic: 16 Open – Right Sides

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It 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. In our last positional article, let's look into some right sides who did a good job on Saturday:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["318205"],"_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":"Kelly and her team Houston Stellar 16 Elite dominated the division with six wins and just one set lost. She split time between her original outside hitter position and the right and was an important offensive weapon regardless of where she was. Kelly recently returned to the courts after a knee injury that sidelined her for months, but is picking her rhythm back very quickly. She was very effective offensively, making good use of her power and reach, and also scored hitting from the middle back position.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e339007"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17235650/65ed15cc0dc14503ec8971d8' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e3390c7"} /--> <!-- 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='535907' first='Payton' last='Ortega']","_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":"5'10u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"32925","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Salado","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Texas Fury","_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":"Ortega helped her team Texas Fury 16 Legacy secure a second-place finish in the tournament, getting three wins and three losses. A long and athletic hitter, she also displayed excellent technical tools and vision, finding ways to hit around the block and tool it. Ortega remained on the court when she was on the back, playing solid defense and hitting from the right back position. She also had a very positive attitude on the court, frequently encouraging her teammates before and after plays.rnrnu003ca href=u0022https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/payton_ortega4?video=3769215u0022u003eHighlightsu003c/au003e","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e339169"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["395620"],"_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":"Estringel was the main offensive player in her McAllen Fierce 16-1 team that finished in third place with four wins and just one loss. A lefty, she has the power and the skills to score and managed to carry the team's offensive load throughout matches. Estringel has a lot of shots in her bag and excellent vision and understanding of the game to determine which one to use at each time. She was very effective when hitting from the right back position and also helped her team with her passing on some rotations.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e3391b6"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":518291,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/IMG_2785.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-518291" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">McAllen Fierce 16-1 vs. United VBA 16 Purple</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["486944"],"_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":"With Lanton on the right, CC Force 161 Crossfire ranked ninth with three wins and two losses. She's a bit of an undersized right-side hitter, but can battle anyone at the net with her leaping ability and athleticism. Lanton has a heavy right arm, makes contact with the ball and makes very good offensive choices, making very few errors. She's also a strong blocker, getting off the floor well and timing her jumps with intelligence.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e3391fd"} /--> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/C4ZHVvxsxkL/","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/C4ZHVvxsxkL/ </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["348491"],"_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":"Playing for Valley Venom - 161 Red, Cargill and her teammates got a ninth-place finish with two wins and three losses. A lefty, she was extremely effective with her offensive actions on the right and was one of the team's most efficient scorers. Cargill wasn't always the most powerful, but she was very good at finding ways to put the ball down, be it by finding difficult angles, tooling the block or scoring off of tips. The right side hitter was even more effective when hitting quicker sets behind the setter.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65f0e7e339242"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":518305,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/03/IMG_2916.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-518305" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Valley Venom - 161 Red vs. MoCo Mavs 16 Red</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->