Good, clean fun at the Big Lake Lions Mud Volleyball Tourney

On a picturesque sunny June day, just behind the dunes and mounds of dirt typically reserved for ATVs, 51 teams from the Mat-Su Borough, Anchorage, and beyond came together for a down and dirty day of volleyball.

The 37th annual Big Lake Lions Mud Volleyball tournament, organized by the Big Lake Lions Club, held on June 15, draws hundreds of participants, volunteers, vendors, and supporters for a day a double-elimination volleyball.

With support and lots and lots of water from the West Lakes Fire Department, four courts are filled with nearly a foot of water, lending to the ‘mud.’ Teams baring names such as the ‘Mud-staches’ and ‘That’s what she set,’ arrive and warm up. Brackets are made. And barring any unforeseen mishaps (stormy weather, missing volleyballs, muted speaker systems), eight teams take to the courts.

“We’ve had more teams this year than the past several years,” said Jaime Estes, who has been coordinating the event since 2018 and saw a record number of teams enter before the pandemic in 2020 dropped participation. “It’s nice to see the numbers come back up.”

Each 10-person team paid $400 to participate. With other sponsors and expenses, Estes anticipates raising $15,000 to 20,000 for the Big Lake Lions Club.

“This is our biggest fundraising event of the season. All of the money goes back into the community in one way or another,” she said, adding that much of the funds raised goes to the Big Lake Lions Ice Rink, a vital part of the Big Lake community. “In the ice rink, we do free open skate during the winter, and this event helps make sure that that stays free for the community so that those who want to come skating in the winter, learn how to skate, have somewhere to go and something to do.”

She said the rest of the funds are used as needed, such as wildfire relief, families in need and other community-related needs.

The tournament might be the main event, but for many of the teams, it is all about the tailgating parties that start up before anyone has spiked a volleyball, with dozens of pop-up tents scattered throughout the parking area, playing corn hole, warm-up volleyball and beer pong.

“My siblings have always done this, for years, and it feels very Alaskan, just one of those things we just do here,” said Aubrey Hinkle, who was participating for her third year. “Everyone here is the same kind of person, and if they’re here, they are your kind of people.”

“It’s an Alaskan experience,” concurred Trevor Nichols.

As for the mud, well that just made it better for the players.

“We’re here for a good time, getting down and dirty in the mud,” said Naomi Brown, who said they were planning to belly flop into the muddy water.

“We love the game, don’t mind the mud,” said Emma Montagna. “It’s the perfect day for this. We had clouds for weeks, and here we are on a Saturday and the sun is out and the temperature’s just right.”

“If you’re not dirty, you didn’t play right. If you don’t have mud on your face, you’re not doing something right,” said Oakley Jackson, a member of the returning Highliner Hotel Hitters team, representing one of the sponsors of the tournament, as her team warming up.

Their strategy for the game was simple and had a simple strategy.

“Having a good time,” said Jackson. “It’s fun. Everybody’s nice, laughing, and on the same vibe.”

“If we get a few wins, we’re good," added teammate Teague Russell.

Estes says that the event could not happen if it were not for the amazing volunteers and sponsors that come together every year.

“We have people and businesses that buy pits. We have Cruz Construction, Hatcher Pass Polaris, Three Bears, Susitna Brewery, and Denali Refuse as sponsors. We could not do any of this without Fischer’s Fuel, Big Lake Rental, the Dirt Company who all supply us with equipment and let us rent the land. It is truly a community event!”

One of them is a separate contest for team names, bringing out double entendres, innuendos, and plays on mud and volleyball. Some of the team names up for consideration included ‘Sets Addicts,’ ‘Empire Spikes Back,’ and ‘Faced Down Pass Up.’

“We didn’t even realize they did a name competition,” said Balls Deep member Hinkle.

As for their team name, she said simply, “It was just one of the names on the list that we liked,” adding that another choice they considered was ‘Sets on the Beach.’ The public votes for the winning name, and this year, the title belonged to the ‘Unprotected Sets.’

For Estes and others, the tournament not only marks the beginning of summer, but is the culmination of hours and hours of work.

“Seeing the weeks of hard work come together, and everybody having fun.”

“The whole environment, the sun, bringing everyone together, everybody having fun and it’s something that everyone can participate in,” said Shawree Ray.

The winning team was the Ballers, who previously won in 2022.