The Mudders knew from the beginning they would prevail, as shown by their confident smiles after their first match. Back row, left to right are Chad Klein, Keith Buchhalter, Joe Aquinas and Andrew Bird with Kaite Klein and Ashlan So in front. Photo by Stephanie Frehner.
Although it was windy and chilly on Saturday, March 26, seven teams came out to the Eureka Casino & Resort to support the Mesquite Rotary’s efforts in raising money for the Beaver Dam High School Beautification Project through their Third Annual Mudd Volleyball Tournament.
Each team played six games over the course of three hours in about three inches of cold mud and gusts of cold wind.
First place honors went to The Mudders — Joe Aquinas, Keith Buchhalter, Chad and Kaite Klein, Andrew Bird and Ashlan So. Second place went to The Snozberries, who were sponsored by Deep Roots Medical, and third place went to The Dirty Joes, who were sponsored by an anonymous donor.
Although they had a defaulted win for being the Studs in the Mudd for 2016, the Mesquite Police Department showed up in style with custom shirts and some quick moves in the icy, muddy water. Photo by Stephanie Frehner.
Rotarian and organizer Linda Gault said there were 17 sponsors for this year’s event and the amount of teams that competed increased as well.
There was to be a separate competition between the Mesquite Police Department and the Mesquite Fire Rescue Department for the “Studs in the Mudd” travelling trophy, but Fire Chief Kash Christopher contacted Gault on March 24 to resign from the competition citing fire academy classes that conflicted with the time frame of the event. In doing so, the trophy defaulted to the Mesquite Police Department represented by Ian McOmie, Chris Rowley, Larry Stewart, Scott Taylor, Quinn Averett and Greg Lovell.
The water may not have been as deep, but with it being cold and windy, even the Mesquite Police Department doubled up net duty to keep the other team from scoring. Photo by Stephanie Frehner.
“We enjoy getting out in the community and participating, letting people know that we’re good guys,” Averett said. “And we like to beat the firefighters.” In response to their cancellation, Averett said the MPD would see them next year.
“We’re just very excited about all of the participation of both the players and the businesses stepping up and helping out a great cause,” said Mesquite Rotary President Keith Buchhalter. “We take a lot of pride in this project and are so glad that everyone can come together for it.”
