ASPEN, COLO. - The 25th Motherlode Volleyball Classic opened here Thursday (August 28) with top-seeded David King and Dan Sayler one match away from winning the Men's Seniors' competition.

King (San Cruz, Calif.) and Sayler (San Luis Obispo, Calif.) advanced to the Men's Seniors (45 and older) championship match by defeating second-seeded Jack Flora (Winter Park, Colo.) and Mike Wirsing (Winter Park, Colo.) 15-9 in the championship bracket finals.

King and Sayler will play the title match later Thursday against one of three remaining tandems in the field, including Flora/Wirsing, Tom Hanson/Bill Noon or Dave Lawless/Bill Post.

North America's top "Pro-Am" event held at one of the world's premier resorts, the Motherlode Volleyball Classic has attracted over 600 teams for the five-day event.

Pro-am play in seven men's and five women's classes will be held at six different locations in the Aspen-area. The top players will compete in the "Open" classes for both men and women starting Saturday on sand courts at Koch Lumber Park and Willoughby Park.

Curtis Griffin (Boulder, Colo.) and Erik Moore (Salt Lake City, Utah) are back to defend the Men's Open title that they have won the past two years. The Smiths (Aaron and Dave of Lakewood, Colo.) are also back as the pair has dropped the past two Motherlode Volleyball Classic title matches to Griffin and Moore (15-10 in 1995 and 15-1 in 1996).

The Women's Open will crown a new championship team as Gina Pillitiere (Akron, Ohio) will not return this year after teaming with Shannon Misek (Denver, Colo.) to win the 1996 title by defeating Mardji Hyde (Castle Rock, Colo.) and Debbie Stanford (Dallas, Tex.) in a double-final (13-15, 7-6).

Hyde and Misek will team together this year and will battle the tandems of Monique Oliver/Kristen Schritter, Julie James/Jeanette Kollasch, Carrie Busch/Nancy Mason, Liz Pagano/Lynda Street and Erin Deiters/Deanna Johnson for the 1997 Motherlode Women's Open title.