Houston Open 2024: Outside Hitters

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The volleyball season is also underway for private high schools in the state of Texas and some of the top talent in the Lone Star State will be competing in one of these leagues for the next few months.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This past weekend, most of the top teams from the Houston area reunited for a traditional season-opening tournament, the Houston Open, which was held at the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] club on Friday and Saturday.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/08/houston-open-2024-photos-pools-1-2/">Houston Open 2024: Photos - Pools 1 &amp; 2 </a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/08/houston-open-2024-photos-pools-3-4-5/">Houston Open 2024: Photos - Pools 3, 4 &amp; 5<br></a></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig was in attendance on Friday, when we got to watch 18 different varsity teams in action and now we're featuring some of the most interesting players we got to spot during the day, this time looking into the outside hitters:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["390310"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54b4a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Schoen was a key piece in her Episcopal team that ended the event with four wins and just one loss. She used her length extremely well offensively, especially in out-of-system plays. Schoen was able to put a lot of weight into her swings, but also stood out for her ability to find difficult angles and her offensive variation, which made her very hard to stop for opposing blockers. The outside hitter handled her passing duties confidently and also showed efficiency with her big blocking.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/14229262/66ca793a2959087954ba5942' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54cf1"} /--> <!-- 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":"Sophie Sharp","_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":"5'8u0022","_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":"St. Pius X","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Stars","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54d8f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Sharp did some solid work with her team St. Pius X, which ended the tournament with two wins and three losses. An extremely technical player, she displayed impressive resources to put the ball down, finding difficult angles and pulling smart tips out of her sleeve. Shap was also very explosive offensively, hitting with power when she spotted a gap in the block and being set at the middle back position. Also capable of playing as a defensive specialist, she was excellent with her passing and also performed some nice digs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605255,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/IMG_6812.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-605255" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">St. Pius X vs. St. Thomas Episcopal</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["269777"],"_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":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54dde"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Love was a scoring force for St. Agnes Academy, which ended up in first place with an undefeated campaign of six victories. She was almost in a league of her own offensively as most teams simply didn't have an answer to her size and firepower. Love was set very often when she was at the net and carried the team's scoring load with confidence, putting the ball consistently and, perhaps most importantly, in key moments. She was solid with her passing and also got some stops with her big block, helping the team's defensive system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/15374647/66cb39e12959087954bca942' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54e02"} /--> <!-- 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":"Laycee McGrady","_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":"5'7u0022","_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":"Fort Bend Christian Academy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54e7c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McGrady and her Fort Bend Christian Academy teammates finished second in the tournament, getting five wins and just one loss. With the team dealing with several absences, players were moved around fairly often and McGrady ended up at outside hitter, where she did a very good job. Because of her excellent vertical, she consistently found herself in a good position to score and did it with great efficiency and variation. She also handled her passing very well and caused problems for opponents with her serving.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17157878/66ca319ab6781565da85a5a9' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54ea4"} /--> <!-- 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":"Taylor Moore","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2028","_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":"Kinkaid","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-66cc9d1b54f1d"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">With Moore at the pin, Kinkaid had a campaign of three wins and three losses at the Houston Open. A freshman, she showed tremendous potential to develop into a top prospect, especially offensively. Physically strong, Moore was very powerful with her swings, but also displayed the ability to hit sharp shots and was very versatile, scoring from the left, the right and the middle back positions. She always looked calm on the court and passed very well. Her floater was a cause of concern for opponents as she registered some aces and frequently got them out of system.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":605312,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/08/IMG_7019.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-605312" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Kinkaid vs. Northland Christian</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->