Explosive Outside Hitters at Cross Court Classic 16 Open

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volleyball was all over the place at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown Houston, two weekends ago, as the venue hosted the 2025 edition of the Nike Cross Court Classic, one of the most traditional club tournaments of the year.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This year's edition featured 710 teams from all over Texas and neighboring states, which competed for two days in one of the 29 divisions of one of the largest tournaments held in Houston in 2025.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-photos/">Nike Cross Court Classic: 16 Open - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Dig Texas was in attendance on Saturday and we got to watch all eight teams that competed in the 16 Open division. Let's now review some of the top players in the age group, this time looking into the outside hitters:</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":"Peyton Barnes","_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":"5'11u0022","_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":"Foster","_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-67d44ba41551f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Barnes played for the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 15 Royal that dominated the division despite playing one age group up and finished at the top of the standings with five wins and just one set lost. The outside hitter was one of the team's main scoring options and displayed great tools to consistently put the ball down. Barnes used her length extremely well to have the edge over opposing blockers and also found some really nice angles with her swings. The pin hitter also handled her passing duties with great efficiency.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":757804,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0137.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757804" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["693887"],"_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-67d44ba415598"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Nunez was with the SA Elite 161 Navy team that finished second with four wins and one loss. A very technical player, she was a key piece in their playing system, delivering excellent production in many areas of the game. Despite not being extremely tall, Nunez was extremely efficient offensively, getting off the floor very well and putting the ball down at a very good rate from the left and the right, either hitting quicker or higher sets. The pin hitter was a key piece in the team's serve-receive system and displayed an amazing top spin jump serve that generated many aces and free balls for her team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":757797,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0117.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757797" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["521672"],"_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-67d44ba4155e8"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hawkins was also with the SA Elite 161 Navy team that secured a second-place finish in the event, with four wins and a single loss. Playing opposite to Nunez at the other pin, she complemented her teammate well, bringing more firepower to the team's offense. Hawkins is extremely athletic and had no trouble using her jumping ability and her heavy arm to score consistently from the left and the right. Previously a middle, she also brought some nice blocking power to the pin, getting stops and forcing opponents to make errors.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":757794,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0106.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757794" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["534371"],"_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-67d44ba415630"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hepburn featured in the AP 16 Adidas team that claimed a top-three finish, ranking third with three wins and two losses. Very long and explosive, she was the team's main scorer and very few opponents had answers to her strong and efficient game at the net. Hepburn made the most of her length to hit over the top of opposing blockers, but was probably even better when set a shorter ball, closer to the middle - she was very smart to switch gears and score off of tips too. She also served very well and created difficulties for opponents to side out.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/17474905/67ce9f41312a620b1079ab72' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67d44ba4157ca"} /-->