It was “Dig Pink” night at Pearson McGonigle hall on Friday, in recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And the Owls did a lot of digging—76 digs, to be exact—in their 3-1 win over American Athletic Conference opponent Houston.
Not only was the victory important for the Owls, who now boast a 12-4 record about halfway through the season, but the other focus was making sure breast cancer awareness is being promoted more heavily each year.
“I think it’s a great annual event,” coach Bakeer Ganes said. “We do it every year, and it’s really important that we host this event. I think there’s not enough done to promote awareness for breast cancer, especially coaching a female sport, where we’re surrounded by female student athletes and coaches. I think it’s really important that we go out of our comfort zone and do an event like this.”
“I don’t have any personal [connection],” junior Jennifer Iacobini said. “But I still think it’s big, it’s a good cause. I love supporting it, I love wearing pink. It’s just a good thing.”
Freshman Caroline Grattan says the event serves as a good model for breast cancer awareness.
“I think it’s really important that all schools promote breast cancer awareness as much as they can,” Grattan said. “It’s a great way to kind of raise awareness, because a lot of the times people have their own little personal stories. I definitely feel for the people who have [those stories], and whenever we come out here and show our support it really is a way to connect with the fans on an emotional level.”
For Sunday’s game against SMU, Ganes indicated that the Owls have to keep up the defensive effort (10 team blocks, 76 digs) that his team displayed against the Cougars.
“It’s gonna be tough,” he said. “SMU is a very, very good team [with] a really good coach. [It’s] a very well organized, skilled team. We got to make sure we do a better job of serving and blocking, and if we do that, I think it’s gonna be a good match on Sunday.”
Steve Bohnel can be reached at sbohnel@gmail.com or on Twitter @SteveSportsGuy1.
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