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East All-Stars win Grin Action Classic
By Eric Wade
Daily Mail Sports Editor
SPRINGFIELD -- More than 40 Ozarks area volleyball all-stars and coaches gathered at Parkview for the second annual Sertoma Grin Action Classic tournament on Saturday afternoon. The event raises money for the Tooth Truck -- a service that provides dental services for children in the Ozarks.
We have seen the worth of it," Bill Williams, president of the All-Stars Smile Sertoma Club, said. "In the 11 years of the Tooth Truck, we have been able to provide over $8 million (worth) of free dental care."
Among those 40 players and coaches were three names that have become very familiar to Nevada Lady Tigers volleyball fans. Lady Tigers head coach Ashley Thoreson assisted in the coaching duties for the North squad, while 2013 graduates Sharla Quick and Regan Kannady played for the North squad.
The Sertoma Grin Action Classic was started last year to provide a female counterpart to the Grid Iron Classic All-Star football game. The two events helped to raise $1 million for the organization in 2012.
"We've been working on this for quite a while because we wanted to have something for the girls, too," Williams said.
Though the tournament was all for a good cause, that didn't stop everyone involved from competing at the highest level, in an effort to claim the title. The East squad dominated the tournament, sweeping pool play and defeating the West in two sets to take the tournament title.
Thoreson's North squad was unable to pick up a victory in pool play, but kept every match close. In the opener against the South squad, the North started with a 3-2 lead and things stayed equally close for the remainder of the match.
The two squads traded short runs throughout the match, but the South squad ultimately withstood the pressure, taking the win by a final score of 26-24. Though volleyball matches are normally played in a best-of-three format, such was not the case during pool play on Saturday, as each match only played a single set.
In the second pool play match of the day, the North squad got what turned out to be the toughest draw of the tournament against the East. Though the East squad eventually pulled out the win, that match was much like the first for the North as the two squads traded runs throughout the match.
The East squad eventually took the victory by a final score of 25-18.
The final match of the day for the North squad looked as though it may end differently as the West squad found itself in an early 4-1 hole. The West recovered quickly, however, scoring the next three points and eventually holding on to take a 25-22 victory.
That set up the championship match between the East and West squads, bringing the North's day to an end. Just as it had done in pool play, the East squad dispatched the West in short order to take the title.
Throughout the day, it looked as though the North squad was heavily favored when it came to long volleys in which the ball crossed the net three times or more. Slow starts and struggles with serve receive, however, ultimately proved to be too much for the North to overcome in the abbreviated tournament format, ultimately leading to Thoreson's squad finishing the day with a record of 0-3 in pool play and having to watch the championship match from the sidelines.