Not a single shirt was left unmuddied at the Association of Future Alumni’s annual mud volleyball tournament: Mudstock.
Donning homemade team jerseys and duct-taped sneakers, 16 teams vollied head to head in the Oct. 5 heat while wading through six inches of slippery, smelly muck.
The afternoon was filled with the sounds of music, cheering, shrieking at the surprise appearances by a few crawdads and laughter following the inevitable slip and fall into the mud.
AFA Mudstock co-chair Abby Holycross said, “This is our 18th annual Woodstock. It’s been really successful the past few years and we make a lot of money off of it which is super exciting.
“It’s just something that I know students look forward to… [It’s] a nice midterm, little fun thing,” Holycross said.
Holycross said Mudstock gets participation from a range of Greek and student life organizations.
“It’s just a good way for everyone to kind of get together, connect, have fun … but also kind of play. And, yeah, it’s just this fun time. It’s my favorite time of the year for AFA.”
Makayla Gildon, a junior player for Delta Zeta’s team said, “I really enjoyed being with my sorority sisters. I feel like it was a bonding moment, and I just feel like it brings us closer together, whether we win or not.”
Gildon said this was her first time playing in Mudstock.
“We did fairly well. Unfortunately, we did not make it to the championship, but I would just like to say all my girls came out and we did pretty well and everybody fought till the end and I just really greatly appreciate that,” Gildon said.
“Honestly, it was just really memorable to see everybody slip and fall and just try and catch themselves. It was just a fun time,” Gildon said. “It honestly surprised me like how hard it was … Once you soak down into the mud there’s no getting out.”
Wesley Bridges, a senior player for Pi Kappa Alpha’s team said, “I love playing with my brothers who are in Pike. Just having a brotherhood and connections with them in sports is really fun to do, plus it just gives us something fun to do on a Saturday.”
Bridges said this was his third time participating in Mudstock.
Bridges said a memorable part of the day was “the very first game. The second serve they hit nailed me directly in the back and that same game I was trying to hit a ball up, it went between my hands and smacked me in my face and then went back over the net.”
Pike played in the championship game against the Sigma Phi Epsilon “Celtics.”
The championship game started with a head-to-head volley. Both Pike and the Celtics got breakout leads that the other team would call back to, keeping the game neck and neck. However, once the game reached 25-25, a netted spike by Pike followed by a kill from Celtics team captain Denham Gooden won the game for the Celtics 27-25.
Gooden said, “Well, it was pretty much most of our first Mudstock experience. Most of us are freshmen, so we just try to get out here and represent our fraternity and our school. [We’re] just trying to get involved out here.”
“It was real fun. I’m glad my teammates were locked in all day. We got to the championship and won, so couldn’t do it without them. We just worked as a team and, I mean, that’s all that matters. We just have fun out here and we won the ‘ship, so bringing it back home,” he said.
Holycross spoke positively about this year’s Mudstock sponsors.
“Sig Ep is very helpful every year. They let us do our tent. They did a big sponsorship. They help with brackets. Sig Ep is always a huge part,” she said. “Our other two big sponsors were Taco Bell and the Allied Technology Group.”
AFA also provided participants with pizza from Hungry Howies, various snacks and commemorative Mudstock shirts.