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Volleyball: Bulls take charge in cancer fight

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By EDDIE DANIELS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 9, 2009

WESLEY CHAPEL - Technically, yes, there was an official loser Thursday night. However, in the overall scheme of things, no one lost.

Surrounded by pink balloons, fans in pink shirts, hats and ribbons, as well as a couple of students in white tank tops and pink, painted arms, Wiregrass Ranch collected a 25-13, 25-21, 25-13 victory against Inverness Citrus.

As important as the district win was for Wiregrass (8-6), Thursday night's Go Pink contest and what it represented was much more important.

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness month and the game was used as a fundraiser to aid in the fight against the deadly disease. That point was driven home just prior to the match when a parent read from a sheet of paper that the American Cancer Society estimates there will be 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer in the U.S. Of those, 40,170 women will die. Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women. Lung cancer is first.

"They really wanted to do this for people out there who have suffered or have even survived through it and give back to the community in that way," Wiregrass coach Mindy Kantor said.

The idea was sparked last season when Wiregrass traveled to Hernando High. The Bulls witnessed a similar event there and from that point on, the players who returned for this season wanted to be a part of that giving.

Citrus kept things close in Game 1 Thursday night. The Hurricanes held the lead once, but never allowed the Bulls, clad in pink jerseys, to pull more than four points ahead - until an ace by Sakari Worrels. The Wiregrass freshman collected two more aces, while two hitting errors put Citrus into a deeper hole.

Colleen McCaffrey's kill from the left side ended Game 1.

During that opening set of play, two timeouts were called and the attention of the crowd was quickly refocused to the cause at hand. A student at the scorer's table read off another set of breast cancer facts: According to the ACS, regular exercise – 30 minutes a day and at least five days a week or 45 to 60 minutes per day – can lower breast cancer risk.

Kantor admitted, wading through the heaviness of the night's message was tough at times.

"It was the excitement of the whole night and then of course reading stats. It's kind of somber at first," Kantor said. "When you read off stats like that, you start off in a somber mood and then the excitement of the game gets you going."

In Game 2, Citrus (4-10) proved they were quite adept at erasing a deficit and tying the game. That set was tied 10 times and saw two lead changes. Consecutive kills by Wiregrass hitters Chelsea Violenes and McCaffrey closed out the game.

"The first two games they were motivated. They were out there ready to win," Citrus coach Cindy Donaldson said. "The first game wasn't our best. The second game we were missing some players, but we pulled it together and it was real close. The third game … they defeated themselves."

In Game 3, an 8-1 scoring run put the Bulls ahead, 14-7, essentially sealing the victory.

A percentage of the night's gate as well as donations collected from the student body will be donated to the Side Out Foundation.

The act of kindness was obviously satisfying for Wiregrass sophomore Adriana McLamb.

"I really enjoyed the experience," said McLamb, the team's setter. "Just to have the opportunity to help out in the community is important because I think it's really important our team gets involved with helping out with cancer research and other things in the area.

"I like how we also got to do this within the school because we got a lot of people to come out. We also did a bake sale and other things, not just playing. We're glad that Citrus came and hopefully they enjoyed themselves."

In a bit of irony, Kantor offered a description of her team, which summed up the theme of the night.

"We're going to fight. We're fighters," she said. "They're fighters. They want it for themselves, they want it for the school."

If detected early and treated, 95 percent of breast cancer patients survive at least five years.

Now that's worth fighting for.

Reporter Eddie Daniels can be reached at (813) 259-7066.

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