Written by
LYN DOWLING
FOR FLORIDA TODAY
Sandbox Volleyball’s 2-on-2 tournament Saturday near the terminus of Minutemen Causeway didn’t draw much attention from sun worshippers nearby, most of whom simply acknowledged the nets and players, faced the ocean and said little.
But by the time the semifinals rolled around, most of the beachgoers had turned to face the courts, and spectators, occasionally cheering, lined the deck of Coconuts restaurant.
“It’s gratifying,” said Chuck Marcey, an organizer of the event in which 35 players from around Florida participated during a weekend of festivities and sports tournaments elsewhere. “We’ve caught the attention of more people here and we’ve caught the attention of more people throughout the state. We’re getting the word out and extending our reach.”
The Men’s “AA” competition having been won by Orlando-area residents Jose Perez and Eddie Cherry, who stopped Andy Waterman of Melbourne and Ed Mosmiller of Vero Beach 28-20 in the final.
Monyka Paul of Vero Beach and Rachel Reichert of Winter Haven went undefeated in three games to take the women’s competition. Randy Bittner and Jason Lewis, also undefeated, topped the Men’s “A/B” division.
The irrepressible, AA-winning duo, who grabbed attention across the beach because of Perez’s hot pink sand socks, have played together for about a decade.
“You can’t wear pink socks and not back it up in the tournament,” Cherry joked. “We’ve played together forever, but kind of retired. But we came back and just won a tournament in Orlando and now this one. It’s still a lot of fun.”
It was for Paul and Reichert as well, the duo also having won the Sandbox women’s 2-on-2 “A” competition last August.
“This is rewarding for us because it’s hard to (play volleyball) right now. We’re both working and Rachel attends nursing school in Vero Beach,’ said Price, a teacher at Dennison Middle School in Winter Haven.
“We could play more and bigger tournaments, but we just have time to play the local ones,” Reichert added.
The men agreed. “We all would travel, and play more, but we all have 9-to-5 jobs,” said Mosmiller, who otherwise is chief perfusionist in the department of cardiovascular surgery at Indian River Medical Center. Waterman is a real estate broker in Melbourne.
Marcey could not have been happier.
“Playing on the beach at Cocoa Beach was something we always wanted to do and we are so glad to be here,” he said. “The city of Cocoa Beach has been so helpful to us, especially (recreation supervisor) Laird McLean and the recreation department. We now have plans to do more tournaments in the Melbourne Beach area. Our purpose is to bring people to Brevard County through beach volleyball. We’re bringing players to Brevard County and that is positive for us and for everyone. We love it here.”
