Grass Stain Open Blog

2010 Results

2010-07-10T21:30:00.005-06:00

MEN'S RESULTS:

1ST PLACE: Jason/Levi
2ND PLACE: Mark/Traverse
3RD PLACE: Maytham/Hussain
4TH PLACE: Wade/Matt
5TH PLACE: Erland/Jason
5TH PLACE: Kip/Stanley
6TH PLACE: Don/Ifereimi
6TH PLACE: Jeremiah/William
7TH PLACE: French Toast Mafia
7TH PLACE: Chris/Byron

Access the actual bracket in a PDF form from the Great Falls Volleyball Association's website.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:

1ST PLACE: K Squared
2ND PLACE: Tam & Kee & Care

Access the actual bracket in a PDF form from the Great Falls Volleyball Association's website.

2010 MVP Results

2010-07-10T21:25:00.001-06:00

Men's MVP - $15 iTunes gift card

Jason Lindseth of Great Falls, MT

{Fun Fact: we've had a different men's MVP for every tourney since the 2007 debut - no repeat honors}

Women's MVP - $15 iTunes gift card

Katherine Sunwall of Great Falls, MT

{Fun Fact: the women have voted Katherine as MVP for every tournament (2007, 2009, & 2010) since the birth of the Grass Stain Open as a doubles tournament}

2010 Prizes

2010-07-10T21:20:00.000-06:00

Men's Division:

1st Place - $200 Cash
"Jason/Levi"

2nd Place - $100 Cash
"Mark/Traverse"

3rd Place - $50 Cash
"Maytham/Hussain"

4th Place - $30 Cash
"Wade/Matt"

Women's Division:

1st Place - $100
"K Squared"

2010 Giveaways

2010-07-10T21:15:00.001-06:00

Youngest Men's Team: Kip & Stanley (19.5)
Oldest Men's Team: Don & Ifereimi (42.5)
Middle Age Women's Team: K Squared (30.5)

Each team received a GSO "iPlay" hat.

4 more hats and 3 iTunes gift cards were given away through a random raffle ticket drawing at the end of the captains' meeting.

2010 Teams

2010-07-10T21:10:00.001-06:00

We had a total of 13 teams enter - 10 men and 3 women.

2010 Volunteers

2010-07-10T21:05:00.004-06:00

The Great Falls Volleyball Association Officer's would like to thank the following volunteers:

Jed Koljonen - taking care of water jug, transportation of gear, and set-up/take-down
Damon Alexander - Culligan water delivery and use of coolers
GFVA Members - set-up/take-down duties
GSO Players - set-up/take-down help

Thanks for pitchin' in to get 'er done.

2010 Sponsors

2010-07-10T21:00:00.003-06:00

The Great Falls Volleyball Association would like to thank the following sponsors for their generous donations:

National Laundry - donated all of the tourney T-shirts

Fair Claim - donated $100 cash

Montana Federal Credit Union - donated $100 cash

Culligan - donated bottled water

Subway - donated cards for free 6-inch subs

2009 Press

2009-07-12T09:13:00.006-06:00

Grass stains galore don't bother volleyball lovers
By Tribune Staff • July 12, 2009

Krista Koljonen and Katherine Sunwall combined to win the Women's championship and Terry Gates and Phil Stedman teamed up for a victory in the Men's division at the third annual Grass Stain Open volleyball tournament Saturday at Elk's Riverside Park in Great Falls.

Koljonen and Sunwall defeated Tiffany Bergan and Carrie Sunwall in the Women's title match.

In the Men's final, Gates and Stedman edged Matham Alfadel and Kyle Erickson.

Third place in the Women's division went to Beckie Javinar and Steph Robertson. Tammy Turner and Keely Abbas finished fourth.

Brian Bergan and Charlie Compton earned third-place honors in the Men's division. Taking fourth were Tim Stedman and Rece Gendreau.

Eight two-person teams competed in both divisions.

Turner, the secretary of the Great Falls Volleyball Association, termed the event a "great success." She thanked the people who donated water and fruit.

Krista Sunwall was the organizer of the event.

[I aplogize to Tim Steadman and Reece Gendreau for the misspelling of their names in the newspaper article. Also, Tammy gave a thanks for ALL of the donations, but the Tribune writer chose a couple of the donations to write about.

I thought the volleyball pic for the article turned out really well. It was on the front page of the sports section.

For those of you who don't know, Sunwall is my maiden name, so that tends to be a common mistake. No biggie.]

Save the Date for the 2010 Grass Stain Open

2009-07-11T22:16:00.000-06:00

The 2010 Grass Stain Open will be Saturday, July 10, 2010, so mark your calendars and help spread the word.

Thanks, everyone. Remember: 7/10/10.

2009 Tournament Day

2009-07-11T22:15:00.004-06:00

First of all, Happy Birthday to our very own Tammy Turner. She chose to spend her birthday playing volleyball and earned a hat and 10 bucks as a result. Hope it was a memorable day, Tam.

I would like to thank all of the teams for supporting our tournament in Great Falls. Personally, I'm extremely thankful to all of the women's teams who came out to play. I must admit, you surprised me. Eight teams after last year's cancellation was definitely a pleasant shock. All of the women but three were newbies this year. Also, the 2009 women's MVP was a repeat vote winner from the 2007 tourney; although, she was able to lead her team to a first place finish this time.

On the men's side, we had the same situation as last year: the previous year's overall winner defending his title with a new partner. Six loyal guys have played in the GSO all three years, which means that the remaining 10 guys were all newbies this year. We had a new MVP'er this year; however, heat exhaustion prevented him from finishing the championship match and landed him in the ER that evening. To be nostalgic, we had two former GFVA male members who used to play in the Grass Stain Open when it was a coed 4's tournament in the 90's.

Injury Update Regarding Kyle:

Even though Kyle drank water and ate 8 bananas throughout the day, it wasn't enough to replace his output. His initial cramping turned into extremely painful cramping and nausea. Keely ended up taking him to the emergency room from Machinery Row, which turned out to be a very good thing. Otherwise, his heat exhaustion could have turned into heat stroke (body organs shutting down). After 3 L of IV fluid and 3+ hours in the ER, Kyle felt so much better, was able to walk on his own, and was released.

This is a good reminder for all of us to drink plenty of fluid, which may be more than we think necessary, during these hot summer tourneys. Ask Kyle. This incident was scary.

Thanks, Kee, for driving like a mad woman to get him to the hospital and taking care of business at the ER.

Sincerely,

Krista

(a.k.a. Pizza Stealer. Sorry about that, Phil. Like I told you at Machinery Row, I didn't know that was your pizza. I was feeling sorry for that particular pizza pie, since nobody had taken a slice yet. Oops. I may nickname you Joey, since Joey doesn't share food.)

2009 Photo Gallery

2009-07-11T22:05:00.000-06:00

2009 Results

2009-07-11T22:01:00.003-06:00

MEN'S RESULTS:
1st PLACE: Terry/Phil
2nd PLACE: Kyle/Maytham
3rd PLACE: BB-CC
4th PLACE: Butte Boys
5th PLACE: Damon/Steven
5th PLACE: Erland/Hussain
7th PLACE: Forest/Jeremiah
7th PLACE: Wade/Dave

Access the complete 2009 Men's Bracket at the Great Falls Volleyball Association website.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
1st PLACE: Sunwall Sisters
2nd PLACE: Double Trouble
3rd PLACE: Beckie/Steph
4th PLACE: T-Dawg
5th PLACE: Emmy/Megan
5th PLACE: Team Hotness
7th PLACE: Megan/MaryGlen
7th PLACE: Klick/Morin

Access the complete 2009 Women's Bracket at the Great Falls Volleyball Association website.

2009 MVP Results

2009-07-11T21:50:00.000-06:00

2009 Men's MVP - $15 iTunes Card and Grass Stain Open Hat

Kyle Erickson from Missoula, MT

2009 Women's MVP - $15 iTunes Gift Card & Grass Stain Open Hat

Katherine Sunwall from Great Falls, MT

2009 Prizes

2009-07-11T21:48:00.000-06:00

2009 Men's Division

1st Place - $300 Cash:
"Flathead Fun Guys"
Shroom Eater/Phil

2nd Place - $150 Cash:
"Pool Play Pounders"
Kyle/Maytham

3rd Place - $40 Cash [donated back to GFVA - thanks, guys]:
"Got Smarts"
BB-CC

4th Place - $20 Cash:
"Young Guns"
Butte Boys

2009 Women's Division

1st Place - $300 Cash
"Sassy Sissies"
Sunwall Sisters

2nd Place - $150 Cash
"Downtown Dames"
Double Trouble

3rd Place - $40
"Lady Argos"
Beckie/Steph

4th Place - $20 Cash
"Fair Claim Beauties"
T-Dawg

2009 Giveaways

2009-07-11T21:47:00.001-06:00

Oldest Men's Team - Wade and Dave at 42.0 - 2 GSO Hats

Youngest Men's Team - 2 years in a row - Tim and Reece at 22.5 - 2 GSO Hats

Oldest Women's Team - Tammy and Keely at 29.2 - 2 GSO Hats
Today was Tammy's 37th Birthday. She and Kee earned this prize by 0.2.

Youngest Women's Team - Jessica and Kathryn at 17.0 - 2 GSO Hats
Our local Lady Rustlers

2009 Teams

2009-07-11T21:46:00.008-06:00

We had a total of 16 teams for the 2009 Grass Stain Open - 8 men's and 8 women's.

Sorry, no team pics for the following men's teams:

"Kyle/Maytham"
Kyle Erickson from Missoula, MT
Maytham Alfadol from Butte, MT
Average Age of 26.5

"BB-CC"
Brian Bergan from Great Falls, MT
Charlie Compton from Great Falls, MT
Average Age of 36.0

2009 Volunteers

2009-07-11T21:45:00.002-06:00

A big "Thank You" to the following volunteers:

"Super Dad"
Thank you, Arden Sunwall, for all of your help (delivering the heavy jug of Gatorade, picking up Benadryl for Tessa, taking pictures, and setting up the players' luncheon). Also, thanks for being willing to volunteer three years in a row! I appreciate it so much.

"Great Falls Volleyball Association Members"
Thanks, Great Falls Peeps, for setting up AND tearing down. I didn't even really formally ask you this year, and you showed up anyway to help out. Thank you for compensating for my poor memory.

Lastly, I want to thank the following GF locals who sold Papa Murphy's cards during our fundraiser for the tournament:

Wade Altschwager (gets a pat on the back for selling the most cards)
Damon Alexander
Wendy Stroop
Carrie Sunwall
Katherine Sunwall
Brandt Olsen
Tiffany Bergan
Keely Abbas
Tammer Turner

I also want to thank all of the friends and family members who bought cards from us. Your contributions made a huge difference in our tournament this year. We still have 19 cards to sell in order for the GSO Budget to be in the black. If anyone would like to buy a Papa Murphy's coupon card from me for $5, please let me know. The card doesn't expire and is worth over $22 in savings. Thanks.

2009 Sponsors

2009-07-11T21:44:00.000-06:00

The Great Falls Volleyball Association would like to thank the following 7 sponsors for the 2009 Grass Stain Open:

National Laundry - for donating all of the T-shirts for the third year in a row

Fair Claim - for donating $100 cash for the third year in a row

Montana Federal Credit Union - for donating $100 cash for the second year in a row

Culligan Water - for donating the bottles of water for the third year in a row

Montana Sub Shop - for donating 1/2 of the subs

Albertson's - for donating a box of bananas and a box of apples

Meadow Gold Dairy - for donating such awesome ice cream treats ["Dan, you're the man."]

Your generosity enabled us to award cash prizes to the top 4 teams as well as some fun giveaways. Thanks for your loyal support.

2008 Videos

2008-07-23T00:25:00.007-06:00

Reece & Tim vs. Terry & Trent

Swat Team vs. Erland & Joe

Chris & Byron vs. Mark & Daan

All Mixed Up vs. Wade & Matt

Save the Date for the 2009 Grass Stain Open

2008-07-23T00:12:00.002-06:00

The 2009 Grass Stain Open will be Saturday, July 11, 2009.

Please join us again for a fun day of volleyball. Also, we would appreciate your help in spreading the word, so we can generate more teams (especially on the women's side). Thanks so much!

See you next year!

2008 Tournament Day

2008-07-22T23:20:00.004-06:00

Saturday, July 12, 2008 was a beautiful day for volleyball! Our 16 male competitors really couldn't have asked for better weather. We had a fun and friendly group of guys this year, with an average age of 32.8. Most of the men played last year, since we only had 3 newbies to the tournament.

My favorite quote of the day, thanks to AJ Forbes (I think), went something like, "Jump serves aren't allowed." This caused a stunned look on Tim Steadman's face until he realized that AJ was joking.

Kudos to this group as well! It was nice to observe everyone pitching in to help set up nets or take them down without being asked or expected to do so. I've played in a few tournaments the last few years where players acted like they were "too good" to take down a net (especially after a tough loss), so it was refreshing to witness such good sportsmanship.

Thanks for choosing to play in the 2008 Grass Stain Open as well as traveling to the Electric City. We (the GFVA Officers) hope you all had fun. Please join us again next year during RiverFest.

2008 Sponsors

2008-07-22T23:09:00.006-06:00

The Great Falls Volleyball Association would like to thank the following 5 sponsors for the 2008 Grass Stain Open:

National Laundry - for donating all of the T-shirts again this year

Fair Claim - for donating $100 cash again this year

Montana Federal Credit Union - for donating $100 cash

Culligan Water - for donating the bottles of water again this year

Montana Sub Shop - for donating 2/3 of the subs again this year

Your gifts enabled us to award sweet cash prizes to the top 5 teams as well as some fun giveaways. Thanks for your continued support.

2008 Volunteers

2008-07-22T22:39:00.003-06:00

A big "Thank You" to the following volunteers:

"Sister Slave"
Carrie Sunwall for setting up in the morning, taking team pics, assisting with check-in, maintaining the pool play and bracket boards, getting lunch, setting up for the luncheon, and taking down nets. Thanks, Sis! Rock!

"Scorekeeper Guy"
Arden Sunwall for keeping track of all of the morning pool play scores, wins, and losses for two years in a row. Thanks, Dad!

"Hot Mama"
Tammy Turner for taking care of my "favorite" tasks: the press and socializing. Tam, thanks for bringing the fruit as well. Hope your softball injury heals quickly. We miss you on the court.

"Social Butterfly"
Keely Abbas for helping take down nets, tearing down after the tourney, and most of all: socializing. Kee, you got hooked up to play in more tournaments this summer now that your partner is on the injured list. Bonus!

"The Boss Man"
Wade Altschwager for buying all of the ice for the coolers, hauling tables and nets, letting us use your "tent" thingy, setting up and tearing down, and taking care of the captains' meeting. Wade, congrats on 2nd place!

"The Funny Guy"
Matt Teterud for assisting Wade in the morning as well as helping us with the set-up and tear-down. Very kind of you, Matt! Congrats on winning 2nd place your first time at the Grass Stain Open.

"The Damonater"
Damon Alexander for bringing all of the bottled water and letting us use your coolers again. I appreciate all of your help early in the morning for the set-up.

2008 Photo Gallery

2008-07-14T14:29:00.058-06:00

Damon Alexander serving

Matt Teterud hitting

Tim Teterud

Daan (pronounced Don) ready to serve

Mark hitting, and Daan covering

Tim's jump serve

Wade & Matt

Reece & Tim

Tim Steadman showing his blocking signals

Reece Gendreau serving

Wade's hang time approach after a set from Matt

Byron's approach

Chris serving (sorry, Chris, my photoshop wasn't working)

Tim Teterud hitting

Chris Dorrington & Byron Molyneaux

Damon Alexander serving

Chris & Byron vs. All Mixed Up

Chris Shepherd serving

Mark serving

Swat Team vs. Mark & Daan

Erland & Joe getting ready for serve receive

Erland and Trent at the net

Joe hitting

Da Winners

Terry set Trent up

All Mixed Up vs. Terry & Trent

Guys with hops

Tricky Scramble

Damon receives the ball

Trent serving tough

Damon attempts a kill against Terry & Trent

I see vertical on both sides of the net

AJ & Chris S.

Wade's approach

Was Matt drooling over the set from Wade?

The Mattster serving it up

So my timing is a little behind the action...

Chris D. crushes the ball

Joe & Erland ready to receive

Erland & Joe playing defense

Arden, Carrie, and Krista - guess it's a family thing

One of our young fans, AJ's daughter, napping while Daddy plays

AJ & Chris S. (a.k.a. Punk)

Way to jump, Erland!

A little hustle from Damon

The tall guy, Daan, attacks the ball

Matt hitting

Tim going for a kill

All Mixed Up vs. Wade & Matt

Helena vs. Helena

Swat Team vs. Erland & Joe

Reece & Tim vs. Terry & Trent

Tim's Big Block

What fun and loyal fans this year! Doing the wave to cheer on their husbands or dads!

Thanks for agreeing to pose for a fun pic, ladies!

These gals would rather be playing volleyball, but they took advantage of watching the guys instead.

2008 Giveaways

2008-07-14T14:10:00.005-06:00

2008 Oldest Team - Average Age of 40.5 - 2 $10 i-Tunes Gift Cards

Erland & Joe

2008 Youngest Team - Average Age of 21.5 - 2 $10 i-Tunes Gift Cards

Reece & Tim

Ironically, both teams for the age giveaways ended up being from Butte. Plus, Erland and Reece are father and son.

2008 MVP Results

2008-07-14T13:59:00.003-06:00

2008 Men's MVP - 2 $10 i-Tunes Gift Cards

Terry Gates from Columbia Falls, MT

2008 Press

2008-07-14T13:35:00.018-06:00

Great Falls Tribune Article #1:

Volleyball teams in tourney today

By Tribune Staff • July 12, 2008

In conjunction with today's RiverFest celebration, the second annual Grass Stain Volleyball Open will get under way at 8:30 this morning at Riverside Park.

The two-on-two volleyball tournament is hosted by the Great Falls Volleyball Association and will feature eight men's teams this year, with players coming from a wide range of Montana cities, including Great Falls, Missoula, Butte, Helena and Columbia Falls.

The women's portion of the tournament was cancelled this year due to low entry numbers. There were eight teams entered a year ago, which included numerous local volleyball players, including former Great Falls High and UM Western standout Katherine Sunwall.

Pool play will run until noon, and a double-elimination bracket will form in the afternoon. The first-place prize will be $300, with $160 going to second and $80 to third. Tournament sponsors include Community Federal Credit Union and National Laundry.

The tournament, which is expected to wrap up by six p.m., kicks off a busy three-week span for members of the Great Falls Volleyball Association, many of whom will compete in the Big Sky State Games next weekend in Billings. The following weekend, Missoula will host the Governors' Cup, which is one of the largest outdoor volleyball events in the state.

______________________

Great Falls Tribune Article #2:
[My apologies, Daan! The Tribune staff person who wrote the article must have looked at an old list of players with Mark's original partner, instead of going by the information given him over the phone. Also, my apologies, Chris & Byron, for not getting your names to the Tribune as 5th place winners as well. Sincerly, Krista]

Western Montana pair claim Grass Stain title

By Tribune Staff • July 13, 2008

Volleyball athletes from across the Montana landscape came to the banks of the Missouri River Saturday for the second annual Grass Stain Open.

Terry Gates and Trent Erickson held a perfect record on a perfect day at Riverside Park, winning the open championship and first prize of $300 as the Great Falls Volleyball Association played host to the outdoor two-on-two tournament, held in conjunction with RiverFest 2008.

Gates and Erickson, from Columbia Falls and Missoula, respectively, went undefeated in the best-of-three matches through the morning pool play and in the afternoon bracket.

In the championship, Gates and Erickson met Wade Altschwager and Matt Teterud, and won the first game convincingly, 21-14. They held on for a 22-20 win in the second game. Teterud, who is from Casper, Wyo., and Great Falls' Altschwager claimed $160 for their second-place finish.

Rounding out the top five were Helena's Mark Wehner and Aaron Douglas, who won $80 for third. Great Falls Chris Shepard and A.J. Forbes took fourth, and Butte's Tim Steadman and Reece Gendreau finished fifth.

2008 Prizes

2008-07-14T11:56:00.013-06:00

2008 Men's Prizes:

1st Place - $300 Cash & Medals

As the Tribune stated, "Western Montana Pair."

Terry & Trent

Men's Division Winners

[Trent was the only repeat winner.]

2nd Place - $160 Cash

"Our Great Falls Connection"

[even though Matt has moved to Casper, his roots are in Great Falls]

Wade & Matt

3rd Place - $80 Cash

"The Capitol City Duo"

Mark & Daan

4th Place - $40 Cash

"Our Great Falls Military Guys"

Swat Team

5th Place - $20 Cash

"The Marathon Maniacs"

Chris & Byron

[Chris is "the guy who forgets things."]

5th Place - $20 Cash

"The Butte Boys"

[the youngest team on the grass]

Reece & Tim

2008 Results

2008-07-14T08:04:00.010-06:00

2008 Men's Results:
1st Place: Terry & Trent
2nd Place: Wade & Matt
3rd Place: Mark & Daan
4th Place: Swat Team
5th Place: Chris & Byron
5th Place: Reece & Tim
7th Place: All Mixed Up
7th Place: Erland & Joe

Access the complete 2008 Men's Bracket at the Great Falls Volleyball Association website.

2008 Men's Teams

2008-07-14T07:11:00.017-06:00

We had 8 men's teams enter the 2008 Grass Stain Open:

"Erland & Joe"

Joe O'Mara from Butte, MT

Erland Gendreau from Butte, MT

Average Age of 40.5

"Mark & Daan"

Daan Stordiau from Helena, MT

Mark Wehner from Helena, MT

Average Age of 37.0

"Terry & Trent"

Trent Erickson from Missoula, MT

Terry Gates from Columbia Falls

Average Age of 34.0

"Wade & Matt"

Matt Teterud from Casper, WY

Wade Altschwager from Great Falls, MT

Average Age of 33.0

"Chris & Byron"

Byron Molyneaux from Helena, MT

Chris Dorrington from Helena, MT

Average Age of 32.0

"Reece & Tim"

Tim Steadman from Butte, MT

Reece Gendreau from Butte, MT

Average Age of 21.5

"All Mixed Up"

Damon Alexander from Great Falls, MT

Tim Teterud from Spokane, WA

Average Age of 30.5

"Swat Team"

AJ Forbes from Great Falls, MT

Chris Shepherd from Great Falls, MT

Average Age of 34.0

Big Bummer!

2008-07-06T19:24:00.003-06:00

The registration deadline for the Grass Stain Open was yesterday, and I had to cancel the women's tournament this year. We didn't have enough women's teams enter. I'm so puzzled why we can get enough female teams in a state that offers more competitive volleyball opportunities for women than men. Are the women burned out by the time they finish their high school and college careers? Did we fail at getting the word out? Where are all the women volleyball players? Do they leave the state? What has caused the decrease in interest the last five years? Please enlighten me...anyone...

2008 New Grass Stain Open Logo

2008-06-11T11:21:00.002-06:00

Thanks for designing the new logo for us this year, P@! Flames!

Save the Date

2007-09-13T00:45:00.001-06:00

The 2008 Grass Stain Open has been set for
Saturday, July 12, 2008.

Mark your calendars and join us again for a full day of volleyball!

2007 Sponsorships

2007-09-04T16:04:00.002-06:00

The Great Falls Volleyball Association would like to thank the following 11 sponsors for the 2007 Grass Stain Open:

National Laundry - for donating ALL of the tournament T-shirts

Culligan Water Conditioning - for donating 15 cases of bottled H2O

Albertson's - for donating 3 cases of fruit

Montana Sub Shop - for donating 3 trays of subs

Imagefitters.com - for giving us a reduced rate on our tournament banner

UGF - for donating 4 T-shirts, 4 indoor volleyballs, and 4 UGF season passes

Double G Engraving - for donating 4 trophies

Insty Prints - for donating 50 free tournament posters

Reference Audio/Video - for donating a Clarion CD Receiver

FairClaim - for donating $100

Community FCU - for donating $50

Without your generosity, this tournament wouldn't have been as successful. Thank you so much!

2007 Additional Photos - courtesy of David & Dennice Smith

2007-07-18T12:08:00.001-06:00

Wade & Damon vs. John-Henry & Trent

Damon Alexander hitting

Damon Alexander setting

Trent Erickson

Trent Erickson hitting

2007 Tournament Day

2007-07-16T15:13:00.001-06:00

July 14, 2007 proved to be a typical Montana summer Saturday, ranging from blistering temps to a short wind and rain-sleet invasion. None-the-less, the 42 dedicated volleyball players dug deep and perserved through the heat and short-lived afternoon storm to have fun ("the goal") along the banks of the Missouri River at the Grass Stain Open during RiverFest in Great Falls, MT.

A few Great Falls players managed to make the injured list. Here are the latest updates:

Autumn Waddell pulled tendons and ligaments well as fractured one of the bones on the top of her foot. She doesn't need a cast, but will be wearing a boot for awhile. Hope you heal quickly, Autumn!

Kate Banner suffered a severe ankle sprain and will be out for the rest of the summer. The doctor said it probably would have been better to break it, but we hope the doctor is kidding and her road to recovery isn't too long or painful.

Mitchell Patton had to forfeit the rest of his tournament games due to the heat. I haven't heard any reports on how he's doing, but hopefully it wasn't anything too serious and he's back to normal again.

2007 Volunteers

2007-07-16T14:58:00.001-06:00

The GFVA Officers would like to thank our awesome volunteers for donating their time to help out with all of the tournament tasks. Next year we'll have to make a point to get a group picture of these helpful individuals. We apologize for slacking in that area this year.

A big "Thank You" goes out to the following people:

"Lunch Lady" and much more
Jen Altschwager for picking up our lunch, setting things up, cleaning up, taking pictures, tearing down nets, etc.

"Check-in Ladies"
Marilyn Elliott and her granddaughter Alix for handing out T-shirts in the morning, taking team pictures, and making sure all the forms were signed

"Scorekeeper Guy"
Arden Sunwall for recording the pool play results and maintaining the brackets in the afternoon

"Water Boy"
Jed Koljonen for filling the water jugs, picking up ice for all the coolers, and dropping it all off at the park in the morning

2007 Photo Gallery

2007-07-16T13:11:00.001-06:00

Damon & Jim

Mary & Kelli

Jill & Stacey vs.
Dani & Sharon

Wade & Damon vs.
John-Henry & Trent

Wade hitting

Mary & Kelli vs.
Jeni & Anna

Jill & Stacey vs.
Sharon & Dani

Dani hitting

Trent hitting

John-Henry & Trent vs.
Don & Tim

Sharon & Dani vs.
Jill & Stacey

Cassie serving

Jen & Tammy

Tammy hitting

Arielle serving

Chris D. hitting

Sharon hitting

Katherine blocking

Refreshments in the shade

Dani hitting

Ifereimi & Terry vs.
Patrick & Reece

Patrick blocking

Sean hitting

Mary hitting

Jill serving

Jim hitting

Sean hitting

Elk's Riverside Park

John setting Mark

Jen & Tammy

Dani & Sharon

Erland serving

Jim serving

Joe hitting

Chris & Byron vs.
John & Mark

Krista serving

Katherine serving

Arielle passing

Dariusz & Mitchell vs.
Wade & Damon

Damon serving

Ifereimi hitting

Reece hitting

Mark hitting

2007 MVP Results

2007-07-16T13:00:00.002-06:00

Men voted for men, and women voted for women. The results of the MVP voting were:

2007 Men's MVP - indoor volleyball

John-Henry Anderson from Missoula, MT

2007 Women's MVP - indoor volleyball

Katherine Sunwall from Great Falls, MT

2007 Prizes

2007-07-16T12:04:00.001-06:00

Next year we're hoping the $CASH$ prizes will be bigger and better. We already have big sponsors in mind and will pursue their partnership early in our preparation for the 2008 Grass Stain Open.

However, the cash amounts weren't too bad for the first year.

2007 Men's Prizes:

1st PLACE - $200 Cash & Trophies

"John-Henry/Trent"

Men's Division Winners

2nd PLACE - $100 Cash

"Kyle/Davey"

3rd PLACE - $50 Cash

"Don/Tim"

4th PLACE - 2 indoor volleyballs

"Swat Team"

2007 Women's Prizes:

1st PLACE - $200 Cash & Trophies

"Jeni/Anna"

Women's Division Winners

2nd PLACE - $100 Cash

"Sunwall Sisters"

3rd PLACE - $50 Cash

"Mary/Kelli"

2007 Results

2007-07-16T11:40:00.002-06:00

MEN'S RESULTS:
1st PLACE: John-Henry/Trent
2nd PLACE: Kyle/Davey
3rd PLACE: Don/Tim
4th PLACE: Swat Team
5th PLACE: Hines and Son
5th PLACE: Wade and Damon
7th PLACE: Erland/Joe
7th PLACE: Terry/Ifereimi
9th PLACE: JUST IN TIME
9th PLACE: Chris/Byron
9th PLACE: Jim/Sean
12th PLACE: Randy/Patrick
13th PLACE: Nuk'em (forfeit)

Access the complete 2007 Men's Bracket at the Great Falls Volleyball Association website.

WOMEN'S RESULTS:
1st PLACE: Jeni/Anna
2nd PLACE: Sunwall Sisters
3rd PLACE: Mary/Kelli
4th PLACE: Sharon/Dani
5th PLACE: Shank it to me!
5th PLACE: Arielle/Cassie
7th PLACE: T-Dawg (forfeit after 1st round of tourney)
8th PLACE: S*M*A*S*H (injury forfeit - didn't get to play in double elimination tourney in PM)

Access the complete 2007 Women's Bracket at the Great Falls Volleyball Association website.

2007 Women's Teams

2007-07-16T00:22:00.002-06:00

We had 8 women's teams enter

the 2007 Grass Stain Open.

"Sunwall Sisters"

Katherine Sunwall from Great Falls, MT

Krista Koljonen from Great Falls, MT

"Arielle/Cassie"

Arielle Allen from Lewistown, MT

Cassie Byerly from Lewistown, MT

"S*M*A*S*H"

Kate Banner from Great Falls, MT

Jennie Shepherd from Great Falls, MT

"Mary/Kelli"

Mary Lester from Great Falls, MT

Kelli Gagnon from Great Falls, MT

"Sharon/Autumn"

Autumn Waddell from Great Falls, MT

Sharon Patterson from Great Falls, MT

"Sharon/Autumn" became "Sharon/Dani"

when Autumn went down with an injury during pool play

Danelle Parrow from Butte, MT (hitting the ball)

Sharon Patterson from Great Falls, MT (hiding behind net and pole)

"T-Dawg"

Tammy Turner from Great Falls, MT

Jen Forsyth from Great Falls, MT

"Shank it to me!"

Jill Simmons from Great Falls, MT

Stacey Koehler from WA

"Jeni/Anna"

Anna Noble from Spokane, WA

Jeni Howell from Missoula, MT

2007 Men's Teams

2007-07-15T22:48:00.001-06:00

We had 13 men's teams enter the

2007 Grass Stain Open.

"Chris/Byron"

Chris Dorrington from Helena, MT

Byron Molyneaux from Helena, MT

"Nuk'em"

Mitchell Patton from Great Falls, MT

Dariusz Wudarzewski from Great Falls, MT

"Wade/Damon"

Wade Altschwager from Great Falls, MT

Damon Alexander from Great Falls, MT

[NO PICTURE TAKEN]

"Randy/Patrick"

Randy Kingfisher from Great Falls, MT

Patrick Doyle from Great Falls, MT

"Jim/Sean"

Jim Simmons from Great Falls, MT

Sean Kuhn from Ephrata, WA

"Swat Team"

Chris Shepherd from Great Falls, MT

AJ Forbes from Great Falls, MT

"Hines and Son"

Mark Wehner from Helena, MT

John Hines from Helena, MT

"John-Henry/Trent"

John-Henry Anderson from Missoula, MT

Trent Erickson from Missoula, MT

"Kyle/Davey"

Davey Batt from Spokane, WA

Kyle Twohig from Spokane, WA

"Terry/Ifereimi"

Ifereimi Koroiyale from Bozeman, MT

Terry Gates from Kalispell, MT

"Don/Tim"

Don Dickson from Bozeman, MT

Tim Steadman from Bozeman, MT

"Erland/Joe"

Joe O'Mara from Butte, MT

Erland Gendreau from Butte, MT

"JUST IN TIME"

Reece Gendreau from Butte, MT

Patrick Pitman from Livingston, MT

Annual Grass Stain Open

2007-06-27T20:22:00.000-06:00

Welcome to the RiverFest

2007 Grass Stain Open

in Great Falls, MT

Saturday, July 14th

The Great Falls Volleyball Association will use this blog to post tournament pictures, results, and comments each year for players and fans. Hope you enjoy as we begin our inaugural year...

In the meantime, I (Krista) will work on my action photography skills for the tournament to prevent any mishaps with my digital camera.

Thanks, Mary, for contributing to this somewhat unplanned and unique shot.