For a school proudly boasting crimson and white as its colors, the crowd on Oct. 5 was a sea of pink, as the North girl’s volleyball team welcomed Wheaton-Warrenville South for the annual Dig Pink game, netting their first win at the event.
Dig Pink is an annual contest between North and Wheaton-Warrenville South meant to raise money and awareness for those with stage four metastatic breast cancer. The schools have participated in the event since 2018, and the raised funds go to the Side-Out foundation, targeted towards clinical research for breast cancer.
“This game makes us as players and coaches realize that volleyball is more than just the game played on the court,” head coach Matthew Slechta said. “Being able to bring both communities together in Wheaton and Plainfield is really great for that message.”
To raise money, the programs sold t-shirts, held raffles and took donations. Coming into the game, $40 thousand had been raised since 2018. But, when the final whistle blew signaling a North win, that number increased by an additional $11 thousand.
“It’s great to know that we’re becoming better players, but more importantly, better people,” senior Sydney Pavlik said. “The amount of effort we’ve been putting in is starting to pay off.”
As another way to raise awareness, all of the players had custom pink jerseys emblazoned with the name of someone close to them who battled cancer. A poignant message throughout the presentation was how almost everybody has been impacted in some way by the disease.
“I’m representing my dad, who passed away from bile duct cancer that spread to his liver last summer,” junior Kaelynn Adkins said. “He was my biggest fan, and it’s really rough for me to play without him watching.”
All of the girls, and even the coaches, represented someone near and dear to them.
“I’m representing my Aunt Sharon,” Slechta said. “She was my godmother, and she passed away from breast cancer a couple years ago. I’m proud to be able to represent her in this way.”
One of the highlights of the night was when Angie Lay, the mother of JV sophomore Brinley Lay, gave a speech to those in attendance about her struggles with breast cancer.
“The Side-Out foundation has a mission to harness the passion and power of youth volleyball to help people living with metastatic breast cancer see more tomorrows,” Lay said. “Your support brings more tomorrows for others like me, and I have many tomorrows I hope to be a part of.”
After the win, the North girls celebrated, knowing their efforts have helped to make a difference.
“This game meant a lot to me because I was playing for a cause,” senior captain Ella Strausberger said. “Being able to play and fundraise for those who have cancer is really special and important to me.”
