Middles Who Owned the Net at Katy United Pre-Nationals

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There are only a few weeks left in the club volleyball season, which will come to an end at the start of July with the USA Volleyball Girls Junior National Championship in Indianapolis.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Between now and then, teams continue to compete all over the country, and Texas is no different. This past weekend, the [program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] Pre-Nationals tournament took place, and Prep Dig Texas was in attendance on Sunday, checking out teams in the 15s and 17s Divisions.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><strong><a href="https://prepdig.com/2026/06/katy-united-pre-nationals-photos/">[program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] Pre-Nationals - Photos</a></strong></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTSHgyD3RG/?img_index=1","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"instagram","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-instagram wp-block-embed-instagram"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://www.instagram.com/p/DZTSHgyD3RG/?img_index=1 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a great opportunity to take a look at some teams from the Houston area who may have flown a little bit under the radar during the season, and we'll now share the standouts in each position. We begin with 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":"Kaia McCrory","_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":"5'9u0022","_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":"Ridge Point","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"Texas United","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"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-6a26f54a825c5"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">McCrory played for the Texas United 15 Red team that went undefeated in the 15s Division with two wins. She was arguably the top offensive middle in the entire event, showing a well-developed and efficient scoring game at the net. McCrory used her physicality very well to get off the floor and hit the ball hard, but her offensive quality went well beyond that, as she was able to hit many different sets in the middle with a very high level of efficiency. Her footwork is amazing and allows her to hit the slide set beautifully, moving towards the ball with grace and power before swinging it with power and precision.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":993628,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/06/2J4A0153.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-993628" /></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":"Presley Retkofsky","_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":"null","_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":"Liberty Hill","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"Country Fire Volleyball","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"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-6a26f54a8266b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Retkofsky and her Country Fire 16-1 team won all three matches they played in the 17s Division. A middle with impressive leaping ability, she delivered great intensity at the net, being one of the top players on her team. Retkofsky was very efficient with her blocking, sending overpasses straight down and getting many touches when she went up to stop opponents. The middle was also a viable offensive weapon for her team, hitting different sets at the net and showing a well-developed game, which allowed her to swing in different directions to beat opposing blockers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["966492"],"_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-6a26f54a826c0"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ford was a key player in the Sporting Edge - 16 Armour side that had a win, a tie and a loss in the 17s Division. A very tall player, she was an imposing figure at the net for her team and was dominant on both sides of the ball. Ford made great use of her length offensively, making contact with the ball at a very high point, and fired powerful swings, making it harder for opponents to stop her. The middle was very active defensively, too, showing a great level of attention to deal with overpasses and win 50-50 balls at the net, while also moving well to shut opponents down at the pins.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":993589,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/06/2J4A0030.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-993589" /></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":"Laikynn Hardin","_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":"5'9u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"[program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_program":"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-6a26f54a82743"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Hardin was part of the [program_tooltip program_id='538544' first='Katy' last='United'] 16 Molten side that had a win and a pair of ties on Sunday. She made a major impact with her blocking, getting stops and touching on many balls above the net. Hardin showed excellent mobility to quickly move from pin to pin, rarely leaving her pin blockers alone, and was very aggressive with how she placed her hands above the net, pressing opponents. She also produced well offensively, demonstrating excellent timing to get in the air and good vision to swing around opposing blockers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:image {"id":993580,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2026/06/2J4A0004.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-993580" /></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->