A volleyball tournament that was stopped by COVID-19 returned on Sunday to Starkville with a new, and generous, twist.
Rick’s Volleyball Tournament, hosted by Rick’s Cafe, didn’t draw as many players as it did before the pandemic, but the ones who were there helped both the Oktibbeha County Humane Society and the family of Paisley “Gabby” Frazier.
Frazier, 9, died when the ATV she was riding in was struck from behind on April 23 in Starkville by a driver who was subsequently charged with two counts of aggravated DUI.
“Originally, we were going to do half the money goes to the Humane Society and half the money goes to the winners,” said Austin Frayser, who directed the tournament. “But then with what happened with Gabby Frazier, we were, ‘Maybe we should donate the other half to her family,’ and everybody was very supportive of that.”
While the amount raised might not be huge, the intent was not lost on Frazier’s family, some members of which Frayser knew from school.
“For the family altogether it was close to $250,” Frayser said. “The split was $110 each, but some people I knew wanted to donate to the family, so they gave me extra money on top of that for the family.”
But it didn’t stop there.
“We were able to get almost $500 in gift cards from places around town,” Frayser said, adding donations came from Arepas Coffee Bar (which donated shirts), Book Mart & Cafe; Moe’s Original BBQ; La Terraza; Glo (which donated Glo Cubes); Crawfish Chris; Dapper Doughnuts; Walk Ons; Nutrigroove; and Belle’s Nail Bar.
The donation to the Humane Society was typical for Rick’s Cafe owner Rick Welch, whom Frayser said frequently holds events to benefit that organization. Frayser also cited Rick’s Cafe manager Ryan Handran for putting on these events in the past.
Frayser said the tournament used to be a very long event with a large number of players.
“In the beginning stages of it there would be eight teams a night, and then when it peaked there would be anywhere from 20 to 30 teams a night, and we would be out there from 6 at night until 3 in the morning,” he said.
That wasn’t the case this year, Frayser said.
“We didn’t have too many teams,” he said. “We thought we would have more, but we only had four. The entry fee was $10. It was around finals time, and it was beach volleyball, and a lot of people who play the indoor stuff aren’t big fans of beach volleyball.”
Even with the limited field, there was a lot of volleyball on Sunday. The teams played a full round robin, then double-elimination playoffs.
“We were out there for four and a half hours,” Frayser said.
The team of Pat Cook, Shawn Gebelein, John Farmer and Jason Tiffin won the tournament, defeating Frayser’s team, which included Alleah Stamatis, Mikaela Grubb and Patrick Felton for the championship.
Frayser has been playing beach volleyball for several years, and he has traveled to places such as Daytona, Tampa, Nashville and New Orleans for tournaments.
“I haven’t been able to play too much this year, but a lot of people wanted to have a tournament, so I wanted to do a tournament for people who wanted to play and also help a good cause,” he said.
The four-person teams featured in the tournament might not be what people are used to when they watch beach volleyball on television.
“Typically it’s a two-person sport, but they do have tournaments where there are four on a team,” Frayser said. “This past weekend was probably the biggest four-person tournament in the world, and that’s a weeklong tournament. I went last year, and you’re on the beach all day playing and playing and playing.
Frayser is referring to the Emerald Coast Fudpucker’s 4-player tournament on Okaloosa Island, Florida, which offers a $1,000 prize for first place in the four-person event.
“The year before last they had Olympic athletes come out and play, so it’s a pretty big tournament,” he said. “Four person is kind of uncommon … but it’s starting to become more of a thing now.”
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