Top 4 Middle Blockers at 17’s American Regionals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Heart of America Regionals for the 17 American division was held in Kansas this past weekend. Some of the top teams in the region competed to win a bid to USAV Nationals. Each of the four middle blockers showed their ability to affect the game out of the middle both offensively and defensively. They all bring their own style of play to their team and some even impact their team beyond their play on the court. All four middle blockers is going to be able to make an impact at the collegiate level as soon as 2026. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Abygail Kaufmann: 417 MoJrs 17 Elite Royal</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Abygail is a force to be reckoned with on the offensive side of the ball. She whips her arm so fast that it's impossible for defenders to read. This past weekend at Regionals Abygail showed the ability to dominate in front of the setter. No matter if she's running a 1, a push 1, or a 3 she's able to execute at a high level. The most impressive highlight I saw from Abygail was an overpass kill where the defense was unable to react. This level of offensive production out of the middle position gives her pin hitters a ton of space to work with. Offensively Abygail shows that she can be a dominant force out of the middle blocker position. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='261314' first='Phoenix' last='Fogel']: [program_tooltip program_id='428889' first='Dynasty' last=''] 17 Black</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Phoenix has one of the highest IQ's at the position from Regionals this past weekend. Her ability to make the right swing or shot in the right situation consistently is what coaches want from their middle blockers. Although the offense isn't run through Phoenix anytime she gets a set she will either get a kill or get the opposing team out of system. She shows her IQ on both hitting and blocking but makes the most impact as a vocal leader who keeps the teams vibes high. You can see the impact she makes for her team on a play to play basis. Phoenix has all of the skill and athleticism to impact the game at a high level but to combine that with her IQ and leadership makes her a prospect that any coach would love to have in their locker room. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='714718' first='Leilah' last='Perry']: [program_tooltip program_id='430200' first='KC' last='[program_tooltip program_id='428794' first='Power' last='']17 Pozek</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Leilah's physical gifts alone makes her a dominant middle in the region. When you combine her physical gifts with her skills at the middle blocker position she becomes a top recruit in the state. She has all of the length, height, and athleticism coaches dream for from the middle blocker position. She has a very fast arm swing and uses different arm angles and speeds to make defenses guessing. No matter if the set is perfect, too tight, or off the net Leilah is able to create offense to at minimum get the opposing team out of system. On the defensive side she's a force at the net. She uses great eye work to close blocks based off of the hitter not just based off of the set. Leilah is an exceptional prospect who will make a huge impact for a college program. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='571405' first='Olivia' last='Nzioki']: Mizuno [program_tooltip program_id='515493' first='Club' last='North'] 17 Mike</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Olivia is a fast twitched athlete who can manipulate her body or arm to create hitting angles. The fast twitched muscles really stand out from her vertical jump and her ability to explode through the ball when hitting. When you watch her hit the ball it almost looks like she floats in the air then looks at the block to see what's open. As she keeps going up she executes her swing so fast that back row defenders have no chance to dig it. She can turn the ball both to area 1 and area 5 no matter where the ball ends up in front of her. Olivia's ability to adjust quickly no matter the situation is the most impressive part of her game. Olivia is going to be an intriguing prospect for college programs to continue developing into a dominant all around player. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The talent in the Heart of America is vast and diverse. Although I highlighted middles today the entire tournament is filled with prospects that can contribute at the collegiate level. The middle position stood out to me as one of the hardest to find elite talent. The top teams who dominate the net at the next level have powerhouse middles who help their teams tremendously. Each of these middle blocker prospects are great options for college programs to add to their team. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->