Mud Volleyball Championship Ends in Close
Tanner Edge
For many on campus, May Day is synonymous with mud volleyball. Saturday, May 6 did not disappoint, as upbeat music and enthusiastic students created a vibrant atmosphere around the mud pit, which was frequently watered down by the Chester Township Fire Dept. to create a muddy oasis.
Eric Beard, junior, experienced the mud pit early in the rounds. “It was a lot of fun,” Beard said. “My toes are really cold, but it was well worth it to have fun with all of my friends.”
Zach Wynn, sophomore, was a bit more competitive. “The secret is effort; I don’t want my opponents to score a single point,” Wynn said. “Serve the ball as fast as you can; that’s the key to winning.”
Although Beard's team was eliminated, Wynn’s team won two games during the lengthy single-elimination tournament that started at 10 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m.
After team after team tried to prove its muster in the mud pit, two emerged to make it to the championship game. The Dirty Half Dozen, comprised of Lucas Lorian, Deric Haynes, Dakota Stanichuk, Nate Tesmar, Mbaye Samb and Nick Wingate, took on Six Guys No Cupp, whose member were Dan Reyes, Andy Giles, Simmeon Gastineau, Tod Oram and Benjamin Niederhelman.
Both teams were poised and confident as they took the muddy court for a final stand. Pitting best against best, this match ended when a team reached 25 points, unlike most of the games, which ended at 5 minutes. If there was a tie, then the game would go into sudden death (first team to score wins).
Six Guys No Cupp was in the lead for the majority of the game. It wasn’t until they had a 20-13 lead that a valiant effort arose from The Dirty Half Dozen, and they came back to take the lead.
This effort expended by The Dirty Half Dozen was enough for them to take home the shiny gold championship trophy. One was presented to each member.
The Dirty Half Dozen was thrilled with the result of the game. “It was a good team effort, we conquered it together,” Haynes said. “We battled back and never lost faith in each other and ended up getting the W.”
Lorian agreed. “It was fun having much of the Manchester campus out here and being able to spend time with friends,” he said. “When it came down to the championship game, we all just really wanted to win. We all put in our best effort even when we were down for a while, we knew that we could come back and that’s what we did. It was a blast.”