The IVCC volleyball team had its Dig Pink Night on Oct. 22 this year in order to raise money for Side-Out, a nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting those living with stage  four breast cancer.

IVCC has hosted a Dig Pink Night for years, scheduling it each October during the month dedicated to breast cancer awareness.

Coach Erin Polte says she’s been thinking of the night pretty much throughout the year, planning for  the event can start as early as summer.

This year offered food for spectators and baskets to be raffled off to winners watching the match, and the night had an excellent turnout.

Pink was everywhere in the gym, from the stands to the jerseys and hair ribbons of the players on the court.

It was the “most people at the match this season,” Polte recalls, “It’s an awesome community to come support a cause like that.”

The night raised over $600 to be donated to Side-Out. The name comes from the term used in volleyball to describe taking the ball back, and is used as a metaphor for those
with breast cancer regaining control of their lives.

Side-Out describes the Dig Pink nights in their own words, saying it “brings together volleyball players across the nation to raise funds for breast cancer research, demonstrate the power of teamwork and show support for people with the disease.”

Side-Out was started in Virginia by a volleyball couch whose mother was diagnosed with metastatic cancer, and the event has grown exponentially since it was started in 2004.

“Volleyball is a bigger community than people think,” Polte says. She intends to continue hosting a night each year to generate money for Side-Out.

All the money raised will go to help those with an incurable stage of breast cancer, researching new treatments that have proven to successfully extend lives and minimize symptoms for those whose breast cancer has reached the most severe stage.

It was a fun night for a good cause in the IVCC gym that Thursday.