Anyone who stopped by the gym Tuesday, Oct. 8, would have thought the schools’ colors were black, blue, and pink as the varsity volleyball team lined up against Winter Springs in a pink’d out match for breast cancer.

Winter Springs won in three sets, 25-17, 25-14 and 25-17.

“We really tried our hardest, we tried to push through,” sophomore Ann-Marie Watson said. “And [at] the end of the day that’s all you can ask for.”

The first game started with the varsity team in the lead, 4-2, after a three-kill streak by senior Nicole Mattson. From there the two teams remained close until Winter Springs took the lead at 15-12 and remained ahead until the end of the match.

“We were thinking about it too much,” senior Shelby Sutch said. “Once you make a mistake you get it in your head. You need to have a quarterback memory, thinking ‘next play, next play.’ Don’t get caught up in [your] emotions.”

In the second game, Winter Springs took the lead again, but, Watson, Sutch and senior Katie Krawczyk led an eight point rebound, cutting the gap to just 14-12. But after an error by the girls the game swung toward Winter Springs, who went on to win the second set.

“We came in knowing Winter Springs was a really good team and we came in just wanting to play as hard as we could and to do our best,” Krawczyk said.

Between the second and third sets, both student sections made a point of getting rowdy with chants aimed at each other and themselves to lighten the mood and remind spectators and players that the game was something more than your average volleyball match.

“Pink’d games are about a community coming together for a common cause,” senior Ellie Bonck said. “And this game is no different. The student sections and the players came together for a great game for an even better cause.”

The team now prepares for their next and final home game on Thursday, Oct. 9, against Lyman.

“They were definitely a beatable team,” Sutch said. “For next game we need to improve on communication and just turning it around. Once you lose a point, get it right back.”