Players and Fans alike wore pink Saturday to raise money and awareness for breast cancer.

By Ben Paulin | October 10, 2010

The Stonehill volleyball team and its fans usually wear purple and white to home games. Saturday they were decked in a different color as they participated in a breast cancer awareness fundraiser called "Dig Pink".

Players wore pink ribbons and shoelaces as part of the event, and fans of all ages, including  men, wore pink in support of the cause.

Yesterday, the Skyhawks won in three straight sets beating conference foe Saint Michael's at the Merkert Gym on Stonehill's campus.

"As you can see a lot of people wore pink and it brings it to the front of everybody's mind. It's very important they do stuff like this," said Patti Thompson, of Merrimack, N.H., mother of senior libero Justine Thompson.

"I had a breast cancer scare actually several years back. It turned out to be nothing, but it definitely makes you think," added Thompson. "We've got to get research, and we've got to get awareness and we got to find a cure."

This is Stonehill's first year teaming up with the Side-Out Foundation which uses volleyball to promote breast cancer awareness and fundraising for a cure. Their goal was to raise five hundred dollars between two games, played Friday and Saturday. At last tally they were up to three hundred and twenty five dollars.

People could donate a fixed amount or give an amount per each dig recorded by the Skyhawks.

"A dig is if the other team is hitting or spiking, our first contact, like that first bump, is a dig. We had 67 digs," said Head Coach Lauren Amundson.

She will be donating a dollar per dig recorded during the fundraiser.

Kathy Johnson, of Centerville, whose daughter Erin Johnson is a senior captain on the team, came with a sheet cake with bright pink frosting on it for the girls. "I think especially for kids and college students and people in school, they should be aware. It starts at a young age these days," she said.

"I think for a first time event it went really well," said Amundson. "With our sport being a female sport, it's important, first, to get the knowledge out to the players and families and sisters and girlfriends."

Amundson was also pleased to see her team do well. "We came out really focused and we played very clean volleyball. I was happy."

The Skyhawks won in three straight sets (25-18, 25-18, 25-16) and looked solid as they remained undefeated in conference play.

In the third set Stonehill fell behind quickly, 1-5. But they battled back to take the lead, 15-14. From there they would allow Saint Michael's to score only two more times for the rest of the match. "We lost a little bit of focus there in the beginning so it was nice to see them pull it out in three," Amundson said.

Donations can be made through the end of October at the team's donation page here.

Amundson hopes the team will reach their goal but getting the information out there is just as important. "Even if we're just raising awareness that helps," she said.