Once again, the Annual Crocs MotherLode Volleyball Classic, held this past Labor Day Weekend in Aspen, Colorado, lived up to its reputation as being able to provide an Event with outstanding levels of competition and fun.  But Event Producer Leon Fell may take it a step further when he states that “In the 26 years that I have been producing The ‘Lode, this may be the best that I have seen.  I don’t mean that in “the largest”; but, “the Best”.  I don’t remember having as big of a smile on my face after this Event as I had this year.  The energy, and excitement, flowing throughout the town of Aspen over this past weekend was incredible.  And, the crowds at the Main Championship Courts at Koch Lumber Park were just electric.  They were a rowdy, knowledgeable, group of spectators who seemed to delight in every team’s play no matter what level of play was going on the courts.”

This sentiment seems to be echoed by many of the players participating in this year’s Tourney including Women’s Open players Angela Knopf and Catie Mintz (finished tied for 3^rd) as Knopf reiterates that “it’s such a fun weekend filled with competition and community”.  As well, “The MotherLode is a volleyball party” says Mintz “where you have that old style feel with the spectators sitting up so close instead of in the grandstands.”  Even stoic Steve Salmons (1984 Olympic Gold Medalist and winner of this year’s 45-over division) took time to take in the beauty of the area:  “I loved being on the north side of the Championship Courts where I could see Aspen Mountain.  It is a perfect location.  This is a highlight of my career.”

Although it seems to be an unlikely place for a beach doubles volleyball tournament, this year’s Crocs MotherLode Volleyball Classic served up ample portions of competition and fun as 531 teams from all over the United States made the annual trek to the mountains of Colorado. 

On the competition side, the Midwest and Southwest seemed to dominate the amateur (grass) divisions while the teams from the Pacific Coast Highway battled it out on the sand courts.  Teams from Nebraska, Colorado, Iowa, and New Mexico claimed the majority of the grass division Titles.  With Nebraskans taking the lion’s share with four Championships (Men’s A, Women’s A, Co-Ed A, and Co-
Ed B).

At the Main Championship sand courts, the competition was the most balanced it has been in years as the fans were treated to tight matches and inspired play in every division, from Women’s Masters all the way up to the Men’s and Women’s Open play.  Although teams from the beach volleyball “hotbed” of California captured most of the Titles, there was one notable exception:  In the Men’s Masters (37-over) division, which was a veritable listing of who’s who in the past volleyball world, Jeff Pheffer of Kansas City, Missouri and his partner Matt Akromis of Denver, Colorado shocked everyone by roaring through the 32 team field behind the  phenomenal leaping ability of Akromis and the outstanding blocking of Pheffer to defeat Steve Salmons/Kenny Lentin of San Diego, California in the finals. 

In the Men’s and Women’s Open divisions, the play was spirited and tough as teams from all over the country battled it out for that coveted Crocs MotherLode baseball cap that signifies the winners of each division.  The Women’s Open turned out to be well seeded as the top four seeds made up the final four finishers with the California team of Chrissie Zartman (Redondo Beach, California) and Sara Dukes (Huntington Beach, California) coming out on top as the diminutive Zartman (all 5’3” of her) continued to Wow! the crowd (as she had throughout the Tourney) with her incredible defensive quickness combined with Dukes raw power at the net to, finally, shut down the indomitable spirit of Denverites Dawn Tischauser and Deb Ponis in the Finals to bring home the Championship.  The Men’s Open was no less exciting as a multitude of AVP Pro Beach Tour qualifiers beat each other up for three days before last year’s Men’s Open Champion, Ivan Mercer (of Manhattan Beach, California), playing with Eyal Zimet (Honolulu, Oahu, Hawai’i) outlasted former Denverite Vince Robbins and Adam Roberts (Myrtle Beach, South Carolina) for the Title.

A jubilant Mercer, probably, best summed up the nature of The Crocs MotherLode when he said “This (the MotherLode) is why people drive farther to play the game of volleyball!”