This season, girls volleyball at Erie High School has played a total of 19 games, all of which they have played with the hopes of winning. In this aspect every game is the same, but one stands out from the others, this night is known as Dig Pink Night. 

Every year on this night, while the whole gym glows in pink decorations and many athletes have implemented the color into their uniform, the girls don’t just play to win. They play in order to raise money and awareness for breast cancer. 

As this event has grown to take on different shapes and forms at each school across Colorado, one thing is clear. Madison Fisher, Girls’ volleyball head coach reflects, “It’s a traditional thing, it’s part of the environment, it’s part of the culture of volleyball, which is cool because it doesn’t have to do with volleyball.” 

This year at Erie money was raised in a couple of different ways. One, for example, was the bake sale table that was near the entrance of the gym. As fans passed by to their seats, they had the option of buying a dessert item, with the profits going to breast cancer. Secondly, Volleyball did “Kills for the Cure”. For every kill that varsity made, people had the option to donate two or three dollars. That night varsity made 38 kills. Between the bake sale and “Kills for the Cure”, Erie Volleyball was able to donate around 750 dollars to the Susan B. Komen fund. 

While raising money for breast cancer is an amazing thing for many girls on the court, the night has a deeper meaning to certain players. “It’s important to me because a lot of people in my family have struggled with breast cancer.” Ky Maynes, a junior varsity player says. “It hits close to home.” 

Another player, Emma Grassman has a similar story, in that there have been a handful of people in her family who have passed due to Breast Cancer. She comments, “I think that  [Dig Pink Night] is something that is very important to me personally… It makes people believe that this is something that is actually going on.” 

As reported by the American Cancer Society, or the ACS, of all the cancers women are diagnosed with each year, breast cancer is 30 percent of them. This year, the ACS predicted that almost 300,000 cases would be diagnosed in women all across the nation. Lastly, for women statistically, it is the second most morbid type of cancer. 

Erie High and other high schools across the state have been participating in Dig Pink Night for many years now, and as this volleyball season comes to an end, both players, and those who watch, plan for the many Dig Pink Nights to come.