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The 5th Annual (and final) |
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 Everyone in Mason Stadium knew there would be
both sadness and glee in the Mueller household that night. Gary Mueller,
captain of the "Last Hoorah" & Barb Mueller (Gary's wife), captain of
"Barb's Boyz" would face each other across the net in the final of the AO V
(five) classic volleyball tournament. Sadly, this is the last AO Classic,
however Tournament Director David Park promised that the tournament would be
renamed and held again next season...somewhere.  "The Last Hoorah" fought their way thru the loser's bracket to make it to
the final. Losing their first game to the highly regarded "Yump Dammit" team
put the "Last Hoorah" in a situation where they had to win four games in a
row in order to make it to the final. When the teams were drawn "Yump Dammit"
was the odds on favorite to take the whole thing. Unfortunately, team
Captain Debbie Calder was involved in a household accident the evening
before the tournament and was unable to participate. This is the very first
VB tourney that Debbie has ever missed. Although it was a tough decision for
Gary Calder, he chose to stay home and care for Debbie. Desperate to field
complete teams, the Tournament Director woke up the alternates and assigned
them to the shorthanded teams.  "Barb's Boyz" consisted of Barb Mueller (Captain), Gary Risbridger
(Co-Captain), Lowell Madsen (front line coach), Jauque Pigion (back line
coach), and Brian Eichenlaub (equipment manager). As evidenced by the fact
that everyone had to have a title, there were massive egos on this team.
Barb was able to overcome this problem and quickly melded the players into a
cohesive unit. Except for a very difficult 2nd round game versus "Yump
Dammitt", "Barb's Boyz" basicly breezed thru the tourney.  One of the surprises was the "AO Survivors" winning two games and making it to the final of the winner's bracket. Team captain Paul Mason took MVP honors to the delight of the crowd. More tournament pictures: |
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| Barb Mueller | Brian Eichenlaub |
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| Jacque Pigion | Lowell Madsen |
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| Gary Risbridger | Paul Mason - Mr Volleyball |
