Students and parents filled the stands to cheer on Massapequa’s Junior Varsity and Varsity girls’ volleyball teams on Tuesday, October 17 for their annual “Dig Pink” matches.
The girls competed against Syosset High School to help the Side-Out Foundation, whose goal is to raise money for stage four breast cancer research. “In 11 years, we’ve raised $84,000 before [the night of the match].” Retired coach, Carol Ann Habeeb said.
Students from the McKenna Elementary School choir joined in the occasion and sang the national anthem for the crowd before the teams began to play.
“The game is really exciting, it’s good competition, and it’s for a good cause,” 11th grade varsity player Sophie Macchia said.
Fundraisers in addition to the game included a bake sale, a volleyball clothing sale, and many raffles. The most popular prizes were tickets to an Islanders game and a pair of tickets to a Billy Joel concert.
The final scores in the sets were 20-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21. Kat Doherty had 14 kills and four aces. Kerri Radomski added five kills and five blocks. The Massapequa teams wore pink jerseys for the cause and both schools were proud of how they played.
Syosset High School’s head varsity coach, Lisa Christiansen, said the game is about the importance of what it represents and her girls understand that. “They look forward to it all season,” she added.
While it’s great that Massapequa beat Syosset in four sets, coming together for breast cancer awareness was more important than winning. “It’s not about playing. It’s about the atmosphere, the reason behind it, and coming together for a cause.” Habeeb said.