Casady Digs Pink: A Recap

Every year, the Casady girls volleyball team and faculty face off in a game called Dig Pink in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness month. Through pledges, bake sales, and t-shirt sales, money is raised for the American Breast Cancer Foundation. Volunteering is highly valued at Casady, and Dig Pink acts a way for the Casady community to come together and honor those who have struggled with breast cancer in our community, and beyond. According to Miangila Graham ('17), one of the leaders of Dig Pink, $567 was raised for charity. Members of the volleyball team each ask a teacher they would like to play, forming a very entertaining (and often competitive) game.The first point was made by Dr. Torres, a Spanish teacher. His skills were apparent in the game - a product of his position on the volleyball team in his college days.  Ms. Perri, a science teacher, stood out as the best server on her team and possibly in the game, with hard serves that would land just on the line, causing the girls team to hesitate.  Mr. Halpern, the math department chair, was the clear star of the faculty team, keeping volleys alive until there were unforced errors on the students' side. However, there was an apparent lack of communication on the faculty side, possibly because they had not practiced before the game started. Despite these troubles, the faculty managed to lead the majority of this set and won 26-24, though the girls trailed not far behind.The second set also remained close throughout. The faculty communicated better and called the ball more, resulting in smoother passing and setting. A timeout was called when the score was 24-23, with a faculty lead. In a pep talk, faculty team coaches Anna Payne ('19) and Isaiah Levingston ('16) attempted to "keep up the energy" despite their fatigue and the fact they weren't "trained for this."  Further, one faculty member was overheard trying to convince the others to let the girls win the second set during this time out.  According to Lauren Uhland ('18), the girls team was threatened with running if they failed to win. With this impending punishment, and clear discord amongst the faculty over effort level during the final few points, the girls managed to win this set 25-23.In the third set, the girls beat the faculty 15-2 to win the game. This was partly due to a lack of endurance on the faculty side, but primarily because of the girls volleyball team's fully executed skill. Livy Gross ('17) and Caroline Silver ('18) had beautiful spikes throughout and the team worked as a unit. When asked about this sudden change of play, Peyton Walter ('19) claimed that they let the teachers win the first set, but in the second set realized they "needed to get it together" and "crush them" in the third set. Mr. Banecker, an English teacher, claimed the faculty did, in fact, win the first set fair and square and further, said, "I believe we at Casady have instilled better ethics in our young women than to intentionally throw a game."This competitive spirit between the girls and the faculty was all in good fun, and Mr. Hofer, a science teacher, enjoyed the "sense of camaraderie between the faculty and students." The competition acted as a great way to unify the faculty and students to raise money for breast cancer. Hope Bryer-Ash ('19), and Mrs. Bek-gran, a history teacher, urge students to always "come out and support the teachers and the varsity" and hope that the amount of student support and awareness will continue to increase.