Top Middles at Cross Court Classic 15 Open division

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Volleyball was all over the place at the George R. Brown Convention Center, in downtown Houston, this past weekend, 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-15-open-photos/">Nike Cross Court Classic: 15 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 15 Open division. This week, we've been featuring the prospects who caught our attention in the division, and this time we'll focus on the middles:</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":"[player_tooltip player_id='789628' first='Quinn' last='Yakopich']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2029","_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":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Ronald Thornton Middle School","_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-67cf2d633921f"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Yakopich was part of the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 14 Royal team that, even facing older competition, dominated the division, finishing first with four wins and one loss. She played with a lot of intensity at the net and was always an interesting scoring option for the team with her ability to get off the floor well and swing with power in different directions. Yakopich also used her mobility to make a defensive impact with her blocking - she was also alert to deal with overpasses every time she had to. The middle also displayed interesting ball control and had some good serving runs during the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- 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":"Sarah Johnson","_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":"6'2u0022","_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":"Waller","_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-67cf2d63392ca"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Johnson and her [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 15 Black team ended up in third place at the Cross Court Classic, with three wins and two losses. One of the tallest players in the division, she knew how to use her big frame to dominate the net and was very active on both sides of the ball. Johnson was very successful offensively as not many opponents were able to challenge her in her extremely high contact point. The middle also did great work with her blocking, playing aggressively above the net and winning most of the 50-50 balls she went up to contest. Johnson created problems for her opponents with her tough serves too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":757749,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0031.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757749" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- 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":"Abigail Vogelmeier","_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":"32924","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Clear Lake","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='745880' first='Houston' last='Stellar']","_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-67cf2d633938c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Vogelmeier and her [program_tooltip program_id='745880' first='Houston' last='Stellar'] 15 Elite team finished in sixth place with three wins and two losses. The middle was one of the team's standouts, providing them with a great scoring option through the middle. Vogelmeier was very active offensively, using her long arms to make contact with the ball at a very high point, hitting different sets in the middle and sending the ball in different directions. She also displayed excellent footwork and her mobility positively impacted her blocking as she had no issues getting to the pins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/21456737/67ce58378e4ee674af931bf3' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-67cf2d633953f"} /--> <!-- 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":"Brianna Samuel","_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":"5'7u0022","_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":"Crosby","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Xcel Volleyball Club","_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-67cf2d63395f9"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Samuel played for the Xcel VB 151 Adidas team that ranked seventh in the event after they got one win and four losses. She was very dynamic in the middle and made up for her somewhat undersized frame with impressive mobility and an amazing jumping ability. Samuel displayed good offensive versatility too, hitting from all three positions at the net and turning to smart tips in the right moments. She was also very aggressive with her blocking and got many touches at the net.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":757765,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0063.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757765" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image -->