Girls volleyball: The cause is the big winner
The crowd was great and so was the girls volleyball for the most part. But even better was the cause at Tuesday's "Win With Pink Pinkout" match between Neuqua Valley and Metea Valley.
The host Wildcats rallied to pull out the first set 26-24 and then completed the sweep by knocking off the Mustangs 25-21 in the second set. The DuPage Valley Conference opener was played before a large crowd, mostly dressed in pink, as part of a fundraiser for the Side Out Foundation and to create awareness for the fight against breast cancer.
This particular event started three seasons ago when Mustangs coach Dave Macdonald and then-Waubonsie Valley coach Kristen Didier learned that Neuqua Valley coach Kelly Simon was diagnosed with breast cancer just prior to the start of the 2014 volleyball season.
"It was a fantastic match but first of all a great cause," said Macdonald, whose Mustangs are off to a 13-2 start this fall.
"When Kristen, at Waubonsie at the time, and myself found out that Kelly was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago, we wanted to do something to honor her."
T-shirt sales and donation collections were used to raise money and Macdonald expects another great outcome for the event this year.
"I think we raised a decent amount of money that we'll be able to donate and I'm looking forward to writing that check to the Side Out Foundation," he said. "That's always the fun part for these Dig Pink matches. The match was fantastic. That's the energy we wanted. Great crowd, great volleyball. We just didn't finish."
With Metea Valley leading 24-22 in the first set, the Wildcats rattled off four straight points to pull out the win. The late charge started with a winner by Shannon Skyrd and then Kora Kauling tied the game at 24-24 with a powerful slam on the right side. Skyrd added another winner to put her team ahead and then teamed with Kauling on a block to complete the comeback.
Both teams missed more serves than they'd like to, but for the most part the play was solid and the Wildcats (5-4, 1-0) built a 24-18 lead in the second set before holding off a late Mustangs run to win 25-21 and claim the match.
"We had real good energy tonight. Everyone came together and communicated really well," said Wildcats junior Maria Mayhew, who had 10 kills and 12 assists. "Everyone played awesome. Everyone was contributing and doing their part and that's what contributed to our success.
"It's just great to support our coach, Miss Simon. It's great to have everyone together, all fighting for one cause. She's now two years free of breast cancer, which is amazing."
Simon was all smiles afterward, holding several large pink balloons and happy to have held off a strong Metea Valley team, which will get another crack at the Wildcats Wednesday night at the Wheaton Classic.
"We're really grateful for all the support we had and for the camaraderie with Metea Valley," said Simon, who got a clean bill of health at her annual checkup last month. "And I'm just really glad that our fellow Wildcats came out to support us. That's always fun for the kids."
Libero Nora Meehan paced Neuqua with 9 digs on defense and Kauling had anorther big all-around night with 7 kills, 13 assists and a pair of blocks.
For Metea, Mikaila Dowd had 11 kills and Claire Rothenberger had 9 digs.
"Neuqua's been our rival since forever," said Mustangs setter Miranda Cada, who had 14 assists on Tuesday. "They're a great program. We love playing them and we have a bunch of friends on that team. Being able to support Miss Simon and being able to play with some friends of ours is awesome. Both schools had great crowds and I think the atmosphere was tremendous."