ReUnited takes home the gold at mud volleyball tournament for youth foundation

The event raised nearly $8,000 for the Sarah Williams Youth Foundation.

Just as Bob Williams promised, Saturday’s 11th annual Sarah Williams Memorial Mud Volleyball Tournament was a muddy and family-friendly affair for a good cause. Nearly $8,000 was raised for the Sarah Williams Youth Foundation, named in honor of Williams’ daughter Sarah, who died following a lengthy battle with cancer.

“We had a pretty good crowd, and I would say it went really well,” Williams said. “I haven’t completely finished calculating where we are money-wise, but I’m thinking we will net somewhere between $7,000 and $8,000 once we get expenses taken care of. That’s better than we did last year, so I’m very happy about that.”

ReUnited, a team of fifteen players from across the city, took home first place with a 15-8 victory over second place winners B&M. Also in the championship game were Synovus, who placed third, and North Point, who followed closely behind in fourth.

Reunited team players included Gabriel Garcia, Noe Martinez, Efrain Martinez, Raul Moreno, Miguel Moreno, Jaime Rodriguez, Yasmeen Paloblanco, Tomas Lara, Irvin Campos, Rafael Moreno, Homie Huitanda, Xochiti Becerra, Jesus Sosa, Unique Sardeneta and Eric Murillo.

Patrick Jackson, Noah O’Kelley, Erin Barnes, Josh Barnes, Craig Jones, Shawn McDougal and Eric Jones played for B&M.

Sponsors for the tournament included North Georgia National Bank, First Bank of Calhoun, Children’s Hospital at Erlanger, Thomas Funeral Home, Starr Mathews, Enlightened Electrical, Chick-fil-A, AGC Pediatrics, S Express Signs, Shaw, Mohawk, Dry Creek Powersports, the City of Calhoun’s Street Department, Recreation Department and Fire Department, and several others.

All of the money raised on Saturday will go toward funding scholarships at all three local high schools, donations to the Coulter Hanson Foundation, and Sarah’s Snacks, a program that allows the Williams family to provide snacks to children held for treatment at the Children’s Hospital at Erlanger. The Sonoraville High School volleyball team will also receive a donation from the foundation in appreciation for their assistance with the event.

More photos from the tournament and information about the Sarah Williams Foundation can be found on their Facebook at facebook.com/SarahWilliamsYouthFoundation/.

Tim Godbee The team ReUnited won the Sarah Williams Memorial Mud Volleyball tournament on Saturday.

Kelcey Caulder Above right: Bruce Spotts, left, and Rodger Smith hose down a court.

Tim Godbee Teammates for First Bank work together to return the ball across the net.

Kelcey Caulder Kala Gunter, seated, and Jesscia Forsyth take a break from the action as Eli Ramos goofs off in the background.

Above left: Bruce Spotts, left, and Rodger Smith hose down a court.