Tour of Texas #2: 15 Invitational – Middles

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the most traditional and competitive club volleyball tournaments in the Lone Star State, the Tour of Texas had its second stop of the season this past weekend in Houston, bringing the top talent of the region to H-Town for two days of action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li><a href="https://prepdig.com/2024/02/tour-of-texas-2-15-invitational-photos/">Tour of Texas #2: 15 Invitational - Photos</a></li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a great opportunity to see the elite of the sport in Texas battling it out and Prep Dig was at the Katy United facility on Sunday, where we got to watch all 20 teams that competed in the 15 Invitational division in action. There's a serious level of talent in this group and we'll now feature the prospects that stood out during the day.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These middles made their presence felt at the net:</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='534402' first='Mariah' last='Akinsola']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_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":"Reedy","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"[program_tooltip program_id='431308' first='Texas' last='Advantage']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Akinsola's strong play in the middle helped TAV 15 Black Jason rank first with six wins and one loss. With her and [player_tooltip player_id='534300' first='Nyla' last='Livings'], the team had one of the strongest middle duos in the field and used it to beat opponents. Akinsola played with great energy at the net and did a very good job offensively, hitting different sets with a very high level of efficiency. She also played a big role with her blocking, moving quickly to the pins and playing aggressively above the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa8300545c"} /--> <!-- 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":"Abby Parkinson","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"5'11u0022","_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":"Wakeland","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Excel","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Parkinson was one of the building blocks of her Excel 15 National Red team that secured a second-place finish with five wins and two losses. She dominated the net with her physical game and had a big role role with the team. Parkinson's blocking was extremely effective as she got a lot of touches and one of the reasons for it was her incredibly strong first step, which helped her get to the pins in no time. The middle also did a very good job offensively, scoring in most of the sets she got.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa83005504"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/12258698/65ca1b972347d213c48c3121' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa830055a7"} /--> <!-- 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='534395' first='Jacey' last='Carroll']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2027","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_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":"St. John's","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"Houston Skyline","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"With Carroll in the middle, Houston Skyline 15 Royal ended the weekend in third place with four wins and two losses. One of the most physical players in the event, she was unstoppable at times offensively, hitting all sorts of different sets in the middle with tremendous power. Although her team had plenty of reliable scoring options, Carroll was on some occasions their go-to player at the net and she responded well to it. 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The six-footer was on fire offensively, hitting a handful of different sets down the middle and displayed excellent vision and power to put the ball down. She was set in critical moments of matches, being truly the team's primary scoring option, and used her high contact point and her arm power to score.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa830056f5"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/hudl {"name":"acf/hudl","data":{"embed_code":"u003ciframe src='https://www.hudl.com/embed/video/3/18931653/65ca21a942071b08fcbf23e4' width='640' height='360' frameborder='0' allowfullscreenu003eu003c/iframeu003e","_embed_code":"field_62daf7995fd8c"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa83005717"} /--> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["433652"],"_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_0_evaluation":"Ratcliff and her [program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Green finished in the top five, in fifth place, with two wins and three losses. The dynamic middle impressed with her amazing leaping ability, which allowed her to battle taller middles all day long at the net. Ratcliff hit a very quick set down the middle that was hard for opponents to stop and her footwork was another asset that she used extremely well, including when she had to move at the net to block. 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The middle left a strong impression with her game, playing a big role on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Gobin used her long arms to her favor and hit the ball with a lot of power to score points. She was also a very productive blocker, getting to the pins quickly and playing aggressively above the net.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65caa830057f5"} /--> <!-- wp:image {"id":509407,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"none"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://prepdig.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/5/2024/02/IMG_1123.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-509407" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[program_tooltip program_id='431200' first='Madfrog' last=''] 15's N Green vs. STVA 15 Mizuno</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["433677"],"_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_0_evaluation":"Flowers and Peak 15 Black Bryar had a strong weekend, getting five wins and one loss to finish ninth against some of the top teams in the state. 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