Salt Lake City Showdown Showcase: Middle Blockers

The Salt Lake City Showdown Showcase occurs over two weekends at the Salt Palace in Downtown Salt Lake City. The Week 1 Showcase featured 15+ Washington players and a sprinkling of excellent Idaho, Montana, and Oregon athletes. The Pacific Northwest always represents well at the Showdown. During the Showcase, on-court coaches keep a close eye on the players, looking for the athletes who are making an impact in multiple ways and improving the players around them: here are four middles, three from Washington, and a Top Performer from Idaho that fit the bill at The Salt Palace.    The 2026 prospect was all over opposing attackers, making quick moves as a blocker and getting her hands on multiple swings in single rallies. Schroeder has grown as an attacker- she chooses good routes and angles with her approach, creating space and seams between her and the block. The Shadle Park junior showed a high contact point and was on top of the ball, delivering several rockets during drills and six-on-six.     Depiano is continuing to develop and grow her game in the middle. Playing this club season for [program_tooltip program_id='747679' first='Emerald' last='Rain'], the Auburn Riverside junior is physical and decisive at the net. Depiano's 6'2" length is hard to handle for attackers, and her arm swing is quick and powerful. She is now hammering a clean, flat jump float serve that knocks teams out of system, and her defense has been strong behind it.   <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://youtu.be/6Pj2ghf8GFw?si=haErqqpfLxls1xU4 </div></figure>     The Columbia River sophomore has a strong right arm and can get off the floor quickly on a fast-tempo set. At the showcase, she delivered vicious kills down the seams and off the block while working hard to close pin to pin as a blocker. Cooper looks like a player who could play on the pins; her footwork, size, and athleticism might be a match on the OH or RS.     Taylor took home a Top Performer Award at the Showcase; her dynamic work in transition and ability to attack from various angles out of the middle stood out to her court coaches. The Rigby High School (ID) 2027 prospect has excellent hand placement when she blocks- Taylor presses and turns her hands as she reads opposing hitters. Offensively, she can turn her swings around the block and is comfortable dropping in an off-speed tip when a defense is on its heels.

The Salt Lake City Showdown Showcase occurs over two weekends at the Salt Palace in Downtown Salt Lake City. The Week 1 Showcase featured 15+ Washington players and a sprinkling of excellent Idaho, Montana, and Oregon athletes. The Pacific Northwest always represents well at the Showdown. During the Showcase, on-court coaches keep a close eye on the players, looking for the athletes who are making an impact in multiple ways and improving the players around them: here are four middles, three from Washington, and a Top Performer from Idaho that fit the bill at The Salt Palace.