MELBOURNE, Fla. (Volleyball) – On Saturday, Florida Tech volleyball will host its Pink Game in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. For this annual event, the Panthers (7-6, 2-4 SSC) will look to raise awareness and support for the fight against the disease while also focusing on its toughest opponent as of yet in Sunshine State Conference foe and defending national champion Tampa (12-3, 5-0 SSC).
FIT is relieved to return to the friendly confines of the Clemente Center following a three-match road skid, in which the Panthers registered only two set wins. The Panthers were swept 3-0 by No. 14 Florida Southern in their most recent trip to Lakeland, Florida on Tuesday.
FIT was led by senior Marilyn Dick's team-high nine kills and six digs, while classmate Alea Hamm added eight kills and two blocks. Freshman Olivia Hersey notched seven more kills in addition to three digs and a block. Senior Ashtin Truesdale initiated the Panthers' offense with a match-high 25 assists to go along with her eight digs, three kills and one block.
Tampa enters the matchup fresh off a thrilling five-set victory over Florida Southern on Thursday night in Lakeland. The No. 2 ranked Spartans were paced by two-time defending SSC Player of the Year Berkeley Whaley's 20 kill-14 dig performance against the Mocs. Marissa Lisenbee and Jessica Wagner combined for 28 more kills and seven total blocks. In the middle, Gina Clarke finished with a double-double on a match-high 52 assists and 15 digs.
On the court, the Panthers will obviously have their hands full trying to stop the high-powered Spartans. Off the court, however, FIT wants to draw attention to a much more important task than winning a volleyball game, helping find a cure for the second leading cause of death in women, breast cancer.
Each year, it is estimated that over 220,000 women and 2,150 men in the United States will be diagnosed with the disease. The Pink Game has a special significance for Florida Tech as breast cancer has touched both head coach Amy O'Brien and the volleyball team in many ways.
“It's more sentimental for me and my family because my grandmother did lose the battle with breast cancer,” O'Brien said. “It touches home with me and I love being able to help support such a great cause.
“It touched home with us a couple of years ago when a player's mother was diagnosed during the season and was having chemo and still made it to the match,” continued O'Brien. “We said if she can fight cancer, we can fight to win this match.”
That person is senior Cassidy Ziech's mother Sissy Ziech. Fellow senior Payton Bayless's great aunt has also been affected by breast cancer and will join Sissy and several other survivors in being honored prior to the opening set of tomorrow's match.
FIT will also recognize a member of the SSC volleyball community on Saturday. Current Eckerd head coach Michelle Piantadosi was diagnosed with breast cancer during the pre-season and recently underwent her first round of chemotherapy.
There will be pink Breast Cancer Awareness T-shirts available upon donation and a silent auction featuring items from a few of the Panthers' athletic partners will be held over the course of the match. All proceeds gathered from both will go to benefit Piantadosi and help her pay for her treatment and other various costs.
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help raise money for Piantadosi. Fans who are unable to attend the match but are interested in helping with her treatment can donate to her GoFundMe page. A link to her page can be found in the related links section of this article.
All fans are encouraged to wear pink to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Links to live coverage will be available for the Panthers' matchup at FloridaTechSports.com/live.
