These three members of the OPSU Baseball team took the term "pink out" very seriously; a prize was given for the "pinkest" person in the crowd during Wednesday's volleyball Pink Out match.—Sarah Henderson photo
Box Score Goodwell, Okla.—While the weather was dark and stormy outside Wednesday evening, inside the Oscar Williams Field House was pumped up with pink as the OPSU volleyball team hosted a Pink Out match in support of breast cancer awareness month.
Glittered pink ribbons with the names of loved ones and friends that have been affected by breast cancer covered the doorways; and pink balloons and streamers were draped from wall to wall inside the gym. The team sold pink bracelets in the lobby with proceeds going to the Pink Heals – Panhandle Chapter, and fans, players and staff donned pink apparel in support of the great cause (some from head to toe).
The Aggies faced off against Fort Hays State and, although the outcome was not a favorable one, the evening was full of pride, spirit and a surprise change of venue as a leaky roof caused the action to move to the Noble Activity Center after one set of play. The entire pinked-put crowd followed, and the change of scene seemed to spark more energy.
The Tigers took all three sets winning 25-16, 25-12 and 25-16 and held the Aggies to a -.020 hitting percentage for the match. The Aggies were led by
Bristen Graves who totaled 6.5 points on five kills and 1.5 blocks. Libero
Dejiana Rubio dug out nine balls and landed one service ace; and
Abigail Reinick and
Julia Ibarra led in assists with seven and six respectively. The Aggies fall to a 1-22 overall record.
Game leaders were FHSU's Sydney Dixon with nine kills, setter Hannah Wagy with 29 assists and libero Kailey Klibbe with 12 digs and four service aces. The Tigers finished the match hitting at 22.4 percent and totaled nine team blocks on the night.
OPSU assistant coach
Mike Stara stated, "Our serving and pass reception was good. Now, we have to develop more consistent setter-hitter relationships, which I believe we can do. We thank the students, faculty and the community of the Oklahoma Panhandle for the great support, especially with the poor weather conditions."
The Aggies will head to Weatherford, Okla. this weekend for a tri-match hosted by Southwestern Oklahoma State University on Saturday, Oct. 24. OPSU will play Henderson State at 4:30 p.m. and SWOSU at 7 p.m. with live stats and video links available on the volleyball page of the OPSU Aggie Athletics website.
