Volleyball: Panthers add Pink to the Blue and Gold

As Big East top-10 volleyball blockers Meagan Dooley and Imani Harper focus on stuffing West… As Big East top-10 volleyball blockers Meagan Dooley and Imani Harper focus on stuffing West Virginia, their team, coaches and fans will unite this week against a different enemy.

October has been designated National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and the Pitt women’s volleyball team is promoting this initiative with a “Blocking Out Breast Cancer” match against West Virginia on Friday at 7 p.m.

This event will be the first of its kind for the volleyball team, but head coach Toby Rens credits other such programs with setting high standards for breast cancer awareness events.

“I was impressed with the Pitt women’s basketball event, Pink the Pete, and I thought that volleyball could do something similar to raise awareness for this devastating disease,” Rens said. “Our Blocking Out Breast Cancer match will be both a fundraiser and an opportunity to learn more about breast cancer.”

In order to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Foundation, which supports breast cancer research and advocacy, donations will be accepted prior to the match. In addition, Rens will be making his own donation to the charity.

Members of the Foundation will be on hand to accept the donations and provide information on breast cancer before the match. A Foundation representative also will speak during the break between the second and third sets.

The members of the team, who will wear pink warmup jerseys, said they look forward to this special match and the message that it sends.

“Breast cancer can affect so many people,” junior outside hitter Amy Town said. “Most people know someone touched by it, and hopefully our efforts will help make finding a cure a priority.”

For senior Melissa Stadelman, the opportunity to play volleyball for a great cause is fun and exciting, especially against West Virginia, which she said will make the match a great local challenge. “We hope to have a big crowd on Friday to make the event a success,” she said.

Rens encourages fans to participate in “Blocking Out Breast Cancer” by contributing to the Foundation and by forming a sea of pink in support of the Panthers and their push for a cure.