Volleyball teams get in the pink

Three Hamilton County high school volleyball programs are joining in the fundraising to fight breast cancer during the next three weeks.

Hixson is hosting Soddy-Daisy in the Volley for the Cause on Thursday at 6 p.m. Next Tuesday, Ooltewah is holding its sixth Pink Out when Walker Valley visits at 6:15. East Hamilton is bringing in GPS as the opponent for its Oct. 5 fundraiser scheduled to start at 5:30.

Hixson coach Janet Tate said she knew Ooltewah had held a yearly match to promote breast cancer awareness for a while, which is where she got the idea.

“It’s something different, kind of fun, and it’s for a good cause,” she said.

Tate said the Lady Trojans were picked as the opponent for a fundraiser because she knows most of the team’s players and parents. She also coaches at Loftis Middle School, which is a feeder program for Hixson and Soddy-Daisy.

Hixson had jerseys specially made for the match, and Tate said she’s been told Soddy-Daisy has, too. The Lady Wildcats will be wearing hot pink.

“They’ve got ‘Hixson’ spelled across the front, and the ‘I’ is a breast cancer awareness ribbon,” Tate said. “They came off really well.”

Ooltewah coach Elaine Peigen is a breast cancer survivor. Her players surprised her with the Lady Owls’ first Pink Out in 2005, decorating the gymnasium pink for the designated match while the coach was away from school.

Peigen said she thinks Jenny Menzer, mother of then Lady Owl Jessica Menzer, was the instigator. Another team member, Taylor Gatewood, designed the warm-up T-shirts for the first one.

The previous Pink Outs promoted breast cancer awareness, but this time the Lady Owls are actually fundraising. Their donation is earmarked for the MaryEllen Locher Foundation scholarship fund, which is also Hixson’s appropriated charity.

Peigen said representatives from the organization will be at the gym with a table full of products for sale. She’s hoping because it’s a key District 5-AAA match that a big crowd will show up.

“Those first years were for me,” Peigen said. “Now we want to make money and give back. We’re trying to do a little bit more this year.

“This is the first year we’ll be wearing pink uniforms. We’re really excited about that.”

East Hamilton coach Kristy Lenoir chose to have the Lady Hurricanes’ charity match in October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Their contribution is going to the Breast Cancer Network of Strength.

Lenoir’s brother, Todd Dobson, has a wife, Misty, who’s battling breast cancer.

“My sister-in-law, right before Christmas, was diagnosed and literally just finished up radiation,” Lenoir said. “She’ll be kind of our honoree person. I know she’s thrilled to be finished with her radiation. She’s just been very brave.”

Lenoir said both teams at East Hamilton’s fundraiser will wear specifically made pink T-shirts that exhibit the charitable network’s logo. The Lady Hurricanes will wear a lighter shade.

It hasn’t been decided yet if they’ll make an effort to sell shirts to raise additional funds, but there is a plan in place to promote student involvement.

“We’re really going to try to get a lot of kids to come,” Lenoir said. “We’d like to max out the gym.”

Region 7-AAA representing

With Ringgold moving into the No. 10 spot for the week of Sept. 11, three area teams now are ranked in the PrepCountry/Georgia Athletic Coaches Association Class AAA state volleyball poll.

The Lady Tigers join No. 7 Heritage and No. 9 Southeast Whitfield. Woodward Academy remains the top-rated team.

Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or (423) 757-6653.