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The goals are loftier, and the anticipation is sky high for the second installment of the Carlisle Crush grass volleyball tournament.The tournament is scheduled for Friday through Sunday at Rockledge Athletic Fields. With the help of the Carlisle YMCA and Cut Shot Volleyball, Carlisle Crush is expected to crush year one’s success, as 350-plus teams — and counting — have signed up for the festivities. The event is a nonprofit, helping to grow the sport while financially providing for local volleyball groups and organizations.“What we did last year, everybody was very excited with the amount of success that we had,” committee chair Rob Kole said. “Everybody on the board wanted to come back and do it again. We set lofty goals for ourselves this year. We want to try and double what we did last year, especially when we had nothing last year and had to build it from scratch.”
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Setting the blueprint last July, the tournament’s board has a foundation to build on for its second segment. Carlisle Crush pulled in over 200 teams last summer, establishing the standard for the event.
The tournament is maintaining its pool-play format with teams from 14 different states registered. Regardless of pool size, teams within the same pool will play each another once. The top two from each advance to the playoffs until a division champion is crowned.“We’re trying to create more of a community-based volleyball festival,” Kole said. “(We want this) being all about the player and creating a great experience for the player. We want people to come out and say, ‘I had a great time there.’”Last year’s turnout helped found several traditions while generating new ideas for this summer. Carlisle Crush will reintroduce its center court, a gathering place for tournament participants — this year painted with a blue color-splash logo — and other features such as competitions, food trucks, music and prizes.Some inaugural festivities will include a waterslide and an expansion of divisions. Last year’s tournament featured a parent-child division while this summer brings an adult-child division, allowing friends, relatives and siblings to compete alongside each other. Six-on-six matches will couple with doubles and quad divisions.“As we scale this out, we draw inspiration from some of these other large (grass volleyball) tournaments,” Kole said. “And each tournament has its own personality. … We’re trying to make it where anybody can play and just have some fun with it.”Carlisle Crush has plucked ideas from renowned events like the Pottstown Rumble and put its own twists on its tournament. Having seen other gatherings built from the ground up, Kole and the Crush board have applied the lessons to ensure their tournament engine is running for years to come.Developing a stronger social media presence was of most importance.
“We’ve learned we need to get better on social media,” Kole said. “So we expanded social media last year. We really only had social media on Facebook, but we took social media to Instagram because that’s where I think a lot of people are at. We took our Instagram account from zero (followers) up to 1,900-something. We might be close to 2,000. So we went to 2,000 followers overnight, which we think is really, really good, and that’s kind of helped get our message far and wide.”Competing in separate events and tournaments has also helped relay the Crush message. Donning T-shirts and pitching a Carlisle Crush canopy, Kole and staff have received interest from players and teams from across the country.Other signature tie-ins like the Crush spray — winning teams pop a bottle of Orange Crush soda in celebration — and the quad block — four players attempting to block an opposing swing at the same time — have strengthened the tournament’s identity.“We’re smarter this year by introducing a little bit better ground game,” Kole said. “By ground game, meaning, last year we used Crush ambassadors, and we deployed that tactic again. People who go out and play outdoor grass volleyball tournaments, we gave them a Carlisle Crush shirt with a new logo and had them go out and play so that people would see the logo out there playing.”
Each scheme — old and new — is bringing the bigger picture into focus. While the tournament is meant to create an unforgettable experience, the draw to the sport and the financial effect on local groups and organizations remains the nucleus of the event.Carlisle Crush raised $3,375 last year with the help of registration fees and sponsorships from a list of local businesses. The bar has been set higher moving forward.“I’d like to see us 10 times that (amount) in three years,” Kole said. “Now again, that’s an ambitious goal. But that means giving away $30,000 in three years from now, and that’s where we’d love to go with that. I know that we’re going to give away more than $3,000 this year. But for us to get to $30,000 or more, no other tournament is doing that.“To see it come to life, I’m very excited about it.”
Photos: The 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Elizabeth Young hits a pass during her game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Players celebrate after scoring a point during the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Amy Pituch hits a pass during her game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Dante Frescura, front, stretches to reach the ball during his game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Michelle Bell, left, and Molly Scott, right, battle at the net during their game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Riley Walton serves the ball during his match in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Lane Harry runs to hit a pass during his game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Yamere Nixon sets a play during his game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Daryl Grays blocks a shot at the net during his game in the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Volleyball players enjoy the 1st Carlisle Crush Grass Volleyball Tournament at the Carlisle Family YMCA George B. Stuart Athletic Fields on Friday morning, July 21, 2023.
Jason Malmont, The Sentinel
Christian Eby is a sports reporter for The Sentinel and cumberlink.com. You can contact him at ceby@cumberlink.com and follow him on Twitter at: @eby_sports
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