Kennedy’s varsity volleyball team faced off against the Iowa City West Women of Troy Monday night in a Dig Pink event sponsored by the Side-Out foundation. The spectators were asked to wear pink, and the Cougars wore special pink uniforms with motivational words such as “hope” and “cure” in the place of names.

According to Michelle Goodall, the head coach of Cougar volleyball, the Side-Out foundation was started by people involved with volleyball, so many events like this take place at volleyball games. The proceeds from the game and from the sales of t-shirts in the gym went to support the development of a clinical drug to be used to fight breast cancer.

The game itself began with the Cougars defeating the Women of Troy 25-19 in the first set. Just a few points into this first set, outside hitter Emma Boote, so., went down with what appeared to be an ankle injury (more on this to come). She was helped off the court to applause from Kennedy and West fans alike, and did not return for the remainder of the evening.

In the sets that followed, the Cougars were defeated by West with scores of 25-12, 25-15, and 25-23, ending the game with a victory for West, three sets to one. “A loss is okay if it we learn from it and grow,” Goodall said.

The loss of a player so early in the game had a definite impact on the rest of the team.

“Emma is a real vocal leader for us on the court,” Goodall said, “so it was a significant thing to lose.”

“We lost a very important player, so we knew we had to step up and keep pushing,” Paige Franck, so., said. Franck plays outside hitter and setter, and was on the Cougar’s starting lineup at this game.