Lockdown Middles at Tour of Texas 17 Invitational Division

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most competitive and anticipated tournaments in the entire club volleyball season in the state of Texas, the Tour of Texas kicked off two weeks ago in Houston, with three days of action that reunited each of the top teams in the Lone Star State.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Held across seven facilities in the Houston area, the event reunited over 400 teams, spread across its ten divisions. Even club teams from other states, such as California, Georgia, Illinois and Utah, made the trip to H-Town to compete, further elevating the level of the tournament.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig Texas was in attendance on Saturday, when we were at the FAST Complex to watch the 12 teams that competed in the 17 Invitational Division.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/01/tour-of-texas-houston-17-invitational-day-1-photos/">17 Invitational Division - Day 1 Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the first of the two Tour of Texas stops concluded, it's time we feature some of the players who had strong performances in the event. Today we'll highlight the middles:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["452241"],"_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-6797a8bc89510"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Pinder was part of the Dallas Skyline 17 Royal - Pin side that ended the event in second place with a campaign of six wins and three losses. In a division with towering middles, she used different weapons to stand out, relying on her athleticism and quickness to thrive. Pinder battled neck and neck with players considerably taller than her and made a big impact on both sides of the ball, using her quickness to beat opposing blockers and to get stops at the net. She also displayed a very impressive all-around game and stayed on the court during the back row rotations, helping in serve-receive and playing defense.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/25474491/67973c1a7028f0ad1a4026e7' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6797a8bc896d9"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["295124"],"_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-6797a8bc8972a"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Young appeared for the TAV 17 Black Jon team that ranked third in the event with six wins and two losses. Extremely physical and powerful, she was too much to deal with for most of the middles that crossed her path and dominated the net for her team. Young displayed tremendous firepower in her swings and was particularly effective in hitting the slide set, becoming one of the primary scoring options for her team. She was also very productive with her blocking, combining length and impressive reading of the game to make stops.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["323932"],"_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-6797a8bc89771"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Tarnow and her team 1st Alliance 17 Gold out of Illinois ended the event in ninth place with six wins and two losses. Probably the tallest player in the entire event, she was a force for them at the net. Tarnow's swings were very difficult to stop because of how high her contact point was and she also showed impressive footwork for a player of her size, hitting the slide set very smoothly. The middle also appeared well with her big, structured blocking and was extremely successful in 50-50 balls at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18046424/6790c9ad231c08fe3958333c' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6797a8bc89793"} /--> <!-- 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":"Lauren Hollins","_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":"6'0u0022","_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":"Ridge Point","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Absolute Volleyball Academy","_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-6797a8bc89836"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hollins' AVA TX 17 Adidas team had a difficult weekend, losing all seven matches they played to rank 13th. She still stood out in some ways, showing promise at the middle. Hollins has some solid physical tools and uses them well to make a difference at the net. Her long arms give her the ability to hit the ball at a high contact point and she took full advantage of it. Hollins also moved very well when blocking and was aggressive with her arms above the net. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/25225252/678cd454681209d12cb5e587' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6797b9d4e1ed5"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["326514"],"_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-6797a8bc89883"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Elsasser's HJV 17 Elite team had one win and six losses over the weekend, finishing 13th in the division. She was a bright spot for them in the middle, playing with tremendous efficiency. Elsasser was very solid offensively and did a great job of converting most of her swings into points. She was very consistent offensively and displayed a good variation with her shots, finding different ways to put the ball down. Elsasser was also very productive with her blocking, getting many stops and touches.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->