HOLDEN — No account of fall sporting events at Wachusett Regional High would be complete without record of Dig Pink night in October.
The gymnasium at WRHS was awash in pink Oct. 11, in support of the volleyball program’s annual event. Freshmen, junior varsity and varsity teams hosted the night with matches against Westborough High before a packed and vocal crowd.
For the 11th year, the Mountaineer girls sponsored the event with all proceeds going to the Side-Out Foundation for breast cancer research. Side-Out was established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches for the common goal of furthering breast cancer awareness, education and patient services. The WRHSsponsored event has generated more than $22,000 through admissions, T-shirt sales, bake sales, gift baskets and 50-50 raffles.
In volleyball lingo, the term “side out” refers to a situation where one team wins a point while its opponent is serving, thereby regaining serve or control of play. In the game of life, the term takes on a much broader and more significant meaning.
“This is a big event for the girls, and they put so much into it,” said Mountaineer varsity head coach Jennifer Burton. “It’s such a collective effort from the kids, the parents and the coaches, so everyone’s invested in it. It’s such a big part of our program. I’m really proud of them.”
“It was wonderful to see that everyone came out to support us and raise money because that’s the focus of this game,” said senior Allie Johnson, the team’s setter. “Whether we win or lose, we’ve raised a lot of money, and that’s what feels good. It’s rewarding to see all of our efforts come through on the court.”
“Playing in front of a big audience made our energy increase throughout the whole game, and it was great seeing people from school come out dressed in pink and donating to this amazing foundation,” added senior Rose O’Malley. “It’s been really amazing to have been able to do this my whole four years of high school. I’m sad to see it come to an end, but we’ve made amazing memories.”
“Seeing everyone come out and cheer for you is great, especially the way they all come out in pink to support breast cancer awareness, and that’s a great thing,” said classmate Logan Baker. “It gets me excited to play the games seeing so many people come out and cheer for us.”
The girls faced undefeated Westborough High and dropped the match, 3-0, to the Rangers, one of the top teams in the region.
“We knew that their transition is very fast. What we focused on for this game was controlling our game from our side of the court and limiting errors,” said Burton of the Rangers’ toughness on the court. “They made it pretty uncomfortable for us. We also talked about keeping things positive because this game is such a rollercoaster ride.”
Members of the 2022 Wachusett Regional High girls’ varsity volleyball team are Emerson Allyn, Rose O’Malley, Allie Johnson, Ella Laramee, Lily Davidson, Brooke Laidlaw, Miranda Cary, Vivianne Zhou, Logan Baker, Chase Garabedian, Paige Tower, Rebecca Wright, Claire Michalowski, Kaelin Pousland, Hannah Best and Sophie Jenkins.
