SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — The Sanford Sports Complex in Sioux Falls is preparing to host a sizeable club volleyball tournament.
It’s moving day at the Sanford Fieldhouse.
The venue has over 62,000 square feet of field turf, but a majority of that space will soon be covered in portable volleyball courts.
“There’ll be twelve courts here in the Fieldhouse, then there’ll be eleven courts, our regular courts, at the Pentagon,” Sanford Volleyball Academy Director Mark McCloskey said.
The plastic courts set the stage for the Sanford Pentagon AAU Grand Prix. Mark McCloskey is the director of the Sanford Volleyball Academy and says the tournament has more than quadrupled in size over the past decade.
“We’ve been building our event since we started and we wanted to give our kids locally an opportunity to bring a higher level of competition to town,” McCloskey said.
This year’s event will feature 172 teams from seven states, stretching from Wisconsin to Washington.
“There’s going to be some good volleyball. This really showcases the high level of volleyball that there is around, not just in South Dakota, but around the region,” Tournament Director Kiah Damme-Krieger said.
Kiah Damme-Krieger is the tournament director and says her staff doubles for this tourney, and so does the work, starting with the courts.
“It takes a village to get all this done and so it’s a lot of help from all our staff and people on campus that take time out of their normal day to come help us lay twelve courts,” Damme-Krieger said.
Sanford rents the courts for the weekend. The plastic tiles arrived from Illinois by truck this morning, and once the tournament wraps up in Sioux Falls, they’ll be on their way to Kentucky.
“A full showcase of what we can do here and a nice spotlight on what all we have,” Damme-Krieger said.
And as soon as the tournament ends, prep for next year begins.
“It’s kind of a year-round thing. It’s not constant, but there’s always something to do,” McCloskey said.
