Competitiveness and Fun Mix at USAV Open Nationals

Bill Kauffman
Associate Director, Communications
Phone: 719-228-6800
E-Mail: bill.kauffman@usav.org

DALLAS (May 30, 2011) – Who says being competitive and having fun do not mix while playing for a national volleyball championship?

A total of 534 teams are competing in 26 brackets of the 2011 USA Volleyball Open National Championships May 28 to June 4 at the Dallas Convention Center. One such team that balances fun, competitiveness and fan interaction is Muffin Top, a team from the Southern Region of USA Volleyball competing in the BB bracket.

The squad is playing its third consecutive year together, and the second year with distinctive muffin-styled nicknames plastered on their jerseys. The six-player roster includes Low-Fat Muffin (Kelly Lewis), Stud Muffin (Catherine Zidow), Choco Chip Muffin (Ashley Landers), Banana Nut Muffin (Kimberly Fletcher), Pumpkin Spice Muffin (Michelle Hite) and Corn Muffin (Sara Peele).

“We like to have fun and have a couple drinks at night, but we are ultra competitive when it comes to the matches,” said Lewis, who serves as the team captain. “We had a great time last year when we got our shirts with our nicknames, and now people recognize us by our nicknames.”

The players selected nicknames that fit their personalities, or in some cases, muffin-style nicknames were created to fit their teammates.

“We just have a great group of girls, on and off the court,” Lewis said. “We have been successful on the court, and that is always helpful. Last year we finished second in Phoenix. This year we hope to do as well or better, but there are a lot of good teams here.”

Lewis’s team gains a competitive edge in both age and past playing experience. The team typically plays a couple tournaments together from December to March for a total of six tournaments a year heading into the USA Volleyball Open National Championships.

“The team ranges in age from 22 to 38 and everything in between,” Lewis said. “We have a recent college grad and a mom of four in me. All but one of us also played in college, including three players with Division I experience.”

When the matches get tough, Lewis said the team draws from its closeness over the years.

“We are able to handle stress during the matches because we are so comfortable with each other,” Lewis said. “And that has helped with our objective, which is to win.”

Copyrighted by USA Volleyball/Bill Kauffman Ashley Landers (aka Choco Chip Muffin and #20) hits around the block on Monday afternoon to help her team move to 6-0 in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships. Muffin Top endured a big challenge Monday evening as it entered a gold bracket match against Dallas Thunder undefeated at 6-0. The wrinkle was Peele was injured during the afternoon match. With only six players on the roster, she needed to be on the court.

At first, Peele would stand inside the white stripes during the serve, then move outside the rectangular court to allow her team to run a five-player offense and defense. She would serve underhanded when it was her turn in the rotation. And despite playing a two-player front row due to Peele’s injury, Team Muffin won the first set 25-21.

However, Dallas Thunder started to take advantage of the open spaces in the second set. Peele stayed on the court to provide stationary help on defense. As she rotated to the front row, she quickly transitioned to a deep back row defender after the serve.

Dallas Thunder rumbled to a 25-20 victory in the second set with its new aggressive offense. However, Team Muffin led 12-11 late in the third set before Dallas Thunder regained a 13-12 lead and winning the set at 17-15 to claim the match. Dallas Thunder advanced in the gold bracket with an 8-0 record in the tournament, while Team Muffin will now have to fight its way back to the title match through the consolation round.

Lewis, who has been playing in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships for the last year eight years, has one regret – that she had been aware of this event for the adult volleyball community.

“I had played junior volleyball before going to college,” Lewis said. “I just wish I had known about this event earlier in my life. It is so much fun.”

Lewis has so much fun in the event that she and Fletcher will play in the reverse co-ed event with Lewis’s husband under the name Muffins and Men after wrapping up the BB bracket on May 31.

Last year Lewis and her husband skipped a special 10th anniversary trip and instead played in the USA Volleyball Open National Championships in Phoenix. One year later, she and her husband have yet to make that special anniversary trip, instead coming to Dallas.

Tags: Adult, USA Volleyball Open National Championships