Eight years ago, the Coppell Cowgirls volleyball team organized the first Dig for the Cure event for a Texas high school. This year, the team will take on Southlake Carroll in what is sure to be an exciting match as they hold this annual event to raise money for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation.

Since previous Coppell volleyball coach Sherri Hankins began the event in 2007, dozens of high schools in the metroplex and other parts of Texas have begun to host their own Dig for the Cure events throughout October. Coppell volleyball coach Julie Green has made an effort to continue the tradition that Hankins started.

“We continue with [the Susan G. Komen foundation] because we have a tradition within the volleyball program that started with Coach Hankins,” Green said. “The Susan G. Komen foundation keeps our funds local; it helps families close to our community.”

The Coppell volleyball team is selling T-shirts and raffle tickets during lunches and at the game on Friday night. Prizes for the raffle include Dallas Cowboys tickets to the Thanksgiving Day game, a Dallas Cowboys helmet autographed by Tony Romo, two Southwest Airlines tickets, a $100 gift certificate to Victor’s Wood Grill, a pink iPod shuffle, and many more prizes donated by local businesses. Thanks to these donated prizes and the sponsorship of Frost Bank, who purchased all of the T-shirts being sold for the event, the Coppell Cowgirls are able to donate nearly all of the funds raised to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

The Cowgirls will be taking on their rivals, the number one Class 6A state-ranked Southlake Carroll Dragons. The varsity match begins at 6:30 in the main gym.

“We expect that it’s going to be a competitive game, and we expect to have to play,” Green said. “We anticipate that our work pays off and our goal is to come through the first round in first place; we’re going to have to be good on Friday night to make that happen.”

Although their goal for Friday night’s match is to beat Southlake Carroll, the team wants the focus of Friday night to be on breast cancer awareness.  

“The main idea here is to recognize those that are survivors and to honor the memory of those that have unfortunately not survived. If people don’t have someone in their lives that have been affected by breast cancer, they don’t realize the impact that it has,” booster club and Dig for the Cure committee member Laurie Kirk said, “One in nine females are affected by breast cancer, and that’s a scary number.”