Lone Star State Middles at the Salt Lake City Showdown

Club volleyball teams from all over the country will have yet another opportunity to secure a spot in the USA Volleyball Girls National Championship over the next few days, when the first week of action of the Salt Lake City Showdown will be held.   The tournament will feature 13 divisions in four different age groups, driving over 550 teams from around the US to the Salt Palace Convention Center for three days of action.   Prep Dig will be running a showcase the day before the start of the event, so if you are going to be there, <a href="https://prepdig.com/all-events/?type=Showcase">register now</a>!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2025/03/Screenshot-2025-03-26-at-10.15.22-AM.png?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-763125" style="width:446px;height:auto" /></figure>   Many Texas teams will make the trip Northwest and some of the top prospects in the Lone Star State will hit the court in Utah as they try to help their teams secure a bid. Let's look into some of the most exciting players who will be in action this weekend, this time featuring the middles:    Thornton will be in action with her CC Force 161 Crossfire team in the 16 Liberty division this weekend. A very explosive player, she has the ability to make a major impact on offense by hitting all sorts of differnet sets in the middle with tremendous power. Thornton also appears well with her blocking, moving extremely well at the court and displaying great discipline to close out the space next to the pin blocker. Also capable of playing on the right, she's very good with her footwork and ball control, two areas of the game that make a big impact on everything she does on the court.   <a href="https://sportsrecruits.com/athlete/alyssa_thornton5?video=4969246">Highlights</a>     Fink and her Areté 16 Navy Ethos team will compete in the 16 USA division in Utah. A six-footer, she offers the team a strong presence at the net and makes a major impact on both sides of the ball. Fink is very versatile offensively, hitting from the middle, the left and the right with great efficiency and she does an excellent job of fully stretching her arm to make contact with the ball, ensuring she hits it at the highest possible point. She also delivers a lot defensively with her blocking as she reads the game extremely well and consistently gets to shut down opponents at the pins.      Olatunde will work at the net for the Integrity 17 Intense Blue team that is entered in 17 Open division. She's an outstanding offensive player, who hits quick sets in the middle with tremendous power and doesn't give opposing blockers and defenders much of a chance to stop her. Olatunde is also very good at hitting the ball in the opposite direction of her run, making it very difficult for opponents to predict what she's going to do. Her blocking is very aggressively as, especially when in 1v1 situations in the middle, she does a great job of reading opponents and explodes above the net to shut them down.    <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfuJI9-ObpY </div></figure>    Isham and her HJV 17 Premier teammates will appear in the 17 USA division of the event in Utah. A towering 6'3" middle, she can dominate the net for her team and makes a tremendous impact with her blocking. Isham's size certainly helps her shut opponents down, but there's a lot of technique and intelligence in her defensive actions too as she's very quick to react and plays aggresively above the net. She also does well offensively, consistently making contact with the ball at a very high point and hitting over the top of opposing blockers. The middle had solid ball control as well and can get some digs when on the backcourt.    <blockquote class="twitter-tweet">🙌🏼🙌🏼 <a href="https://t.co/B0BxDnrKzV">pic.twitter.com/B0BxDnrKzV</a>— [player_tooltip player_id='727215' first='Briana' last='Isham'] (@briana_isham7) <a href="https://twitter.com/briana_isham7/status/1889349802506285395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 11, 2025</a></blockquote>    Harris' Texas Legacy 17 Elite team is entered in the 17 Open division this weekend. She joined the club this season, coming from [program_tooltip program_id='431166' first='Houston' last='Juniors'], and has been filling differnet spots for them, appearing in the middle and both pins. Harris emerged as a solid middle in the Houston area over the last few years, using her incredible athleticism to battle much taller players at the net. She has excellent footowork, being capable of adjust in transition plays, and is also an incredible jumper. Her offense is very well-rounded and she makes an impact with her blocking too, using her mobility and intensity to get stops at the net.

Club volleyball teams from all over the country will have yet another opportunity to secure a spot in the USA Volleyball Girls National Championship over the next few days, when the first week of action of the Salt Lake City Showdown will be held.