BILLINGS — Allyssa McCreary's 10-year-old daughter, Berkley, was eager to play volleyball this fall. But after the league folded, affordable alternatives were tough to find.
"And it was like, $350, and I'm a single mom," McCreary explained to MTN Sports before a recent practice.
So McCreary who also works full time, came up with her own game plan and brought her daughter into the decision.
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"I just asked her if she wanted to make her own league," she said.
"And my mom was like, 'Well, other kids might want to play volleyball, too.' And so, we started our own club so everyone can have a chance to play the sport," Berkley said.
For 11-year-old Rylind, the club opened the door to a brand-new experience.
"My aunt one day was like, 'Do you want to play volleyball with Berkley?' And I was like, yeah, sure I'll do it," Rylind said with a smile.
McCreary suspected she wasn't alone as a mother, thinking, "I know that there's probably other moms in the same situation as me."
She was right. The team needed 12 kids, so McCreary asked around at work and posted her idea on a Billings moms page.
"We ended up having a ton of people interested and ended up with 24 kids on the team instead of 12," McCreary said.
With the extra interest, they formed two teams that practice all season outside at Gorham Park. Games are held every Tuesday and Thursday as simple scrimmages against each other.
One challenge: McCreary knew very little about volleyball, so she jokingly told parents that Google would be the head coach.
"I have two other friends helping me kind of coach them and so sometimes we break off into little smaller sections and work on skills," McCreary said.
The team also needed a name, and Berkley had that covered. The Sassy Spikers were born.
"It's been really great. We've been kind of sassy and we've been working on bumping, setting and today we're going to work on diving," Berkley said.
Players range from 9 to 12 years old, coming together from across the city.
"They're from all over town. We've got Heights kids, South Side kids, West End kids. And they've all become really close. They're all begging to do it again next year," McCreary said with a laugh.
Weather permitting, the Sassy Spikers will play their big year-end game Saturday — not bad for a season that started with one question: Why not build their own?
