MARYSVILLE – Volleyball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the state.

So the Marysville Boys and Girls Club is putting on a volleyball tournament Feb. 25 to raise money for the Marysville Police Department K9 unit.

The 16-team tourney sold out so fast, organizers are already thinking about making it bigger next year.

“The first week all of the teams filled up,” said Brittany Parmentier of the club.

Parmentier said that she has eight-team adult, coed 4-on-4 “reverse” volleyball tournaments there every month. Totem Middle School courts also will be used for this tourney.

The teams play all day long. “I don’t want them to have to sit,” she said.

MPD K9 officer Derek Oakes said the caliber of play is top-notch. He plays in a league in Mount Vernon that is at the A level. But when they played in one of Parmentier’s tournaments, they barely won a game, he said.

Parmentier said the games are fast-paced. Each team has at least two women and two men. Men can only hit from the back row. “It’s my favorite form of volleyball,” said Parmentier, 23.

Another reason for 4 on 4, it’s easier to field a team than trying to find six people, she said.

In this tournament, for those 18 and older, there will be A and B pools, so the competition will be fair. Cost of the tourney is $25 a person, so about $1,600 is expected to be raised for the K9 program for various supplies.

Volleyball is a popular sport at the club for youngsters, too.

“It’s a pretty packed gym,” she said.