Top Right Sides in the Cross Court Classic 16 Open division

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.   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.   <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2025/03/nike-cross-court-classic-16-open-photos/">Nike Cross Court Classic: 16 Open - Photos</a></li> </ul>   Prep Dig Texas was in attendance on Saturday and we got to watch all eight teams that competed in the 16 Open division. We've been reviewing some of the top players in the age group and today we complete the last position, featuring the right side hitters:    Penberthy was a key player in the [program_tooltip program_id='510661' first='Houston' last='Skyline'] 15 Royal that ranked first despite playing one age group up with an undefeated campaign of five wins. She doubled up as a setter and right side hitter for them and performed both roles extremely well. If her setting skills were well-known to me, I was very excited to see Penberthy perform on offense as she used her size and strong technique to swing extremely well with her skilled left arm. She also appeared well on the backcourt, creating problems for opponents with her tough floater and getting several touches on defense.    <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/2J4A0147.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-757811" /></figure>    Burke was with the AP 16 Adidas team that ended the tournament in third place after securing three wins and two losses over the weekend. She was a key offensive option for her team, producing at an excellent rate for her team on the right. A lefty, Burke used her reach and vision to send the ball near the end line with great shots when blockers were well-positioned in front of her, but she also had the vision and the power to explore any gaps. The right side hitter also had a tremendous blocking performance, timing her jumps well and getting in the way of opposing pin hitters.      Murray featured for the [program_tooltip program_id='462263' first='TAV' last='Houston'] 16 Adidas - Micah team that got to celebrate a fourth-placed finish in the event after posting a campaign of two wins and three losses. Every time she came in, she was able to support her team offensively. A six-footer, Murray had a lot of firepower in her game and was able to consistently score from both pins by overpowering or tooling opposing blockers. The right side hitter also contributed with her big, effective blocking.     Brown was with the MoCo Mavs 16 Red team that ranked fifth in the event after securing two wins and three losses. She split her time between setting and hitting duties and was one of the most important players in the team. A very technical player, Brown was very good as a playmaker, distributing the ball well among her teammates. When hitting herself, she used her vision and her talented left arm to get the ball past opposing blockers and out of range for defenders. She also did a good job from the service line, putting pressure on opponents with her tricky floaters.

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.