Volleyball players raise money for breast cancer research

A recent girls volleyball match at La Costa Canyon High School where the Mavericks swept El Camino in three straight games was dedicated to raise money for the Sideout Foundation to fund research in finding a cure for breast cancer.

LCC joined hundreds of high school and college volleyball teams across the nation during the month of October (breast cancer awareness month) to host a “Dig Pink” match.

“This is our fourth annual Dig Pink match at LCC, and so far we have raised over $5,400 to help find a cure for breast cancer,” said Cosy Burnett, a junior outside hitter for LCC and RSF resident. Each year the Dig Pink night is planned, organized, and completely run by the girls. This year, the girls decided to do pledges to make the game more exciting. For example, Blair Boyer, a middle blocker had $50 riding on each kill and block she made which would be donated to the Sideout Foundation.

“It was a great way to get all three teams involved in the cause and we had so much fun calculating what each dig, set, kill, ace or block was worth for breast cancer research. We were all just pulling for each other.” Cosy added as she explained that the varsity girls took stats for the JV and freshman team pledges while they cheered them on.

Walking into the LCC gym on Wednesday was a surprise with pink draped everywhere with posters, balloons, t-shirts, socks and of course lots of ribbons.

“Statistics show that one in every nine women will contract breast cancer sometime in their life. It’s incredible to think that we can help find a cure to this disease by working hard and doing something we love. The support from the community was outstanding and we are honored to be a part of something so wonderful,” said Karlee Fuller, a senior outside hitter at LCC who will be playing for Yale next fall.

Another change this year was to enlist the help of students not on the team. Sarah Jenson, a senior at LCC, helped organize the event by making posters and working with the American Cancer Society to have information at the match on Breast Cancer. “It worked out great because I was able to work at the booth with my friend Jeanette where we accepted donations, gave out information on Breast Cancer and pink cookies. We sold T-shirts during the game when all the girls were, of course, busy playing.” Overall, the evening was a great success, raising not only money and awareness, but the girls’ spirits as well. Cosy sums it up by saying, “This was so much fun, we’re already planning next year.”