Rotary Mudd Volleyball Event Not Worried By Weather

By BOBBIE GREEN

The Progress

Thunder, lightning and rain did not deter one of Mesquite’s funniest events of the year. The Rotary Club of Mesquite Mudd Volleyball fundraiser was held at the Eureka Resort on Saturday, Sept. 18.

The event was opened only 25 minutes late because of the sudden inclement weather. But the storm blew through quickly giving way to a typically sunny day.
“The heavens have just helped us to create more mud, that’s all,” said Rotarian Keith Buchhalter.

This popular fundraiser event grows significantly each year. The tournament sported no less than 20 six-person teams this year. That many players along with their friends, families and fans as spectators created quite a crowd behind the Eureka Resort.

“The rain and wind didn’t stop us from having one of the best Mudd Volleyball Tournaments ever,” said Rotary President Linda Gault. “Seeing the overwhelming turnout and great fun both participants and crowd enjoyed was wonderful to see.”

The traditional big event: the competition between police and firefighters; was vigorous as always. The trophy for that contest went to the proud “Studds of the Mudd” police team.

“We are always ready to help Rotary and the community,” said MPD Sergeant Wyatt Oliver who participated in the event. “Of course, we like to play to win.”

The crowd was having fun in the sun and mud. Most people brought their own chairs and sunshade’s, ready to make a day of family fun.

DJ Fuego and DJ Number Juan! played lively music. The Firefighter Association cooked hamburgers and hot dogs for the crowd. The Eureka Resort provided the food free of charge to the fundraiser.

Even though t-shirts are provided to the team players many teams came with their own shirts with their business logos affixed. The Pampered Pooches team even appeared in their own pink tutus.

There were four pits for tournament play. When one was not in use for competition the little kids made use of it for their own fun.

New Mesquite resident Andrew Harris hails from Soda Springs, Idaho. His wife works at Deep Roots and she played on their team. Harris brought the two kid to watch their mom.
“This is a great way to unite community and local businesses,” Harris said.

Myriam Ortiz from the Eureka Team said, “This is so much fun, I played last year and will do it next year, I love it.”

This year’s champions were the Desert Warriors from Mortgage Mate. Desert Warriors team members included Luis Figueroa, Abel Trujillo, Junior Flores, Keith Buchhalter, Juan Gomez and Raymundo Loya. The team beat six challengers to win the tournament championship. They were undefeated in volleyball and in winning enthusiasm. Their shirts were flying like flags.

Second place went to Deep Roots Harvest “Net Ninjas” team. Third Place went to Baird Painting’s “Mudd painters”

A year off due to COVID has not hampered the enthusiasm our community showed for a fun outdoor event.

“Mesquite Rotary is ever grateful to our sponsors and the community, as a whole, for helping us make this event a success,” said Gault. “We’re looking forward to next year.”