Hundreds of spectators turnout to watch 44 teams play volleyball in downtown street
Her teammates look on as Jamie Dalluge aims to set the ball for a spike at Spikin' in the Street Saturday. Matches were held from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Ruben Fentanez winds up to serve the ball as the crowd looks on. Fentanez is a part of the Lakeside Diamonds, a team with players from across Southern Minnesota.
The Misfits prep before their set starts at 4 p.m. as attendees conversate and watch volleyball. The Misfits opened their performance with "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett.
Her teammates look on as Jamie Dalluge aims to set the ball for a spike at Spikin' in the Street Saturday. Matches were held from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Ruben Fentanez winds up to serve the ball as the crowd looks on. Fentanez is a part of the Lakeside Diamonds, a team with players from across Southern Minnesota.
The Misfits prep before their set starts at 4 p.m. as attendees conversate and watch volleyball. The Misfits opened their performance with "Margaritaville" by Jimmy Buffett.
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NEW ULM-- The rain stayed away Saturday as Spikin' in the Street welcomed teams of all ages and skill levels, as well as hundreds of spectators.
In total, 44 teams entered the competition. The teams were separated into three brackets, the A bracket featured the best, the B bracket had the regular players, and the C bracket starred the amateur and rec teams. Four volleyball courts stretched end-to-end along Minnesota Street as competitors worked to win their matches.
The Lakeside Diamonds were one of those teams in the B bracket looking to prove their volleyball prowess. The team has no central location, drawing participants from Mankato, Sleepy Eye, Willmar, and Mountain Lake. Ruben Fentanez has been playing volleyball for three years, but Saturday provided the first matches he has played with the Diamonds.
"It's been great, it’s always nice to see new faces," Fentanez said. "I like to meet new people and have new places to compete in. I always see where the chemistry is and how it’s gonna turn out. [With] different groups of people, [it's about] being able to relate with one another and challenge each other."
Even though his tenure with the group has just started, Fentanez found they’ve gottten along really well.
"It doesn’t matter as long as we’re all here for the same purpose," he said. "To have fun, enjoy nice weather and the love and passion of volleyball."
The set-up of these courts are an oddity. They are temporary placements of sand in the middle of a commonly busy street, and the courts are placed end-to-end when they are usually side-to-side. Fentanez said he enjoyed the new experience, and found it played like a regular volleyball court.
Luke Atwood came from East Bethel, just outside the Twin Cities, to observe and enjoy the festivities. His enjoyment of volleyball comes from the frequent big plays.
"The big play like the home run or touchdown pass happens in other sports very few times a game,” Atwood said. “[With] the bumps and spiking [in volleyball], there’s a big play almost every single set."
Atwood found the location of the event was what he noticed most outside of the volleyball itself. "[What caught my eye was] the fact it’s in the middle of the city," he said. "Usually it’s at a bar or a gym. It being on the street is pretty unique."
Even considering the unique location, Atwood said the quality and fundamentals of the game hadn't changed as a result. He believes the event had a good turnout and it met his expectations.
The A bracket had one winner and second place finisher while the B and C brackets had two. The winner of the A bracket was Sandlot from Mankato, with Black Frost Distilling from New Ulm coming in second. The two B bracket winners were Swany’s Pub from LeCenter/Mankato and Kegel Scrappers from New Ulm, while second place went to Printwear Graphics and Tanker Bay Ball Busters who were both from New Ulm. The winners from bracket C were Big Digz from Lakefield and Sand Blasters from New Ulm, and second place went to Fuel Graphics and The Shorties from New Ulm.
Live music accompanied the thrills of competition. Dain's Dutchman played polka from 12-3 p.m., The Misfits performed classic country music from 4-7, and Schell's Angels rocked out to end the night from 8-11.
The general consensus was the event was a success and a return next year would be greatly appreciated.