The Volley Dawgs hosted Glasgow on September 15, in a game that did more than add a win to the win/loss column for Clinton County … it provided an atmosphere to honor those who have fought and survived as well as those who have lost their life to cancer and the game raised more than $800 for the cause.

Although this game came a little early in the year, with October known as Breast Cancer Awareness month, Clinton County’s Head Coach Pam Ostertag wanted to show her support in the volleyball community by playing Glasgow.

Glasgow’s former coach, Lisa Underwood, was diagnosed with breast cancer and Ostertag wanted to honor her by hosting a Fight against Cancer game.

Clinton County won the match in three sets, 25-13, 20-25 and 25-10.

This year marks the second year Clinton County has hosted a “pink out” game to honor cancer survivors.

Senior Darrian Dalton said there really wasn’t a question about whether to host the game or not.

“I think it’s a great thing to honor these people,” Dalton said. “It’s a really good opportunity to get to do this. Not many counties get to participate in a game like this and it’s a good thing. We are raising money for a good cause.”

Dalton said she is thankful she can participate and show support in the fight against cancer.

“There are people in Albany who have cancer and we are helping our own community,” Dalton said. “We loved doing it last year and we raised quite a bit of money. We have gone out more this year than we did last year. This year we made posters and did more about broadcasting in school to try to get everybody to wear pink.”

The Volley Dawgs did more on September 15 than just play a volleyball game. They got the crowd involved as well as held a silent auction for the cause.

“We are having a silent auction to raise money,” Dalton said. “To keep the crowd into the scene, we are having games in between sets and trying to just have a good time.”

Dalton said hosting this game gives her a feeling of accomplishment that her actions make a difference.

“It makes me feel good … It makes me feel like I’ve done something that can impact someone else’s life,” Dalton said. “Glasgow’s coach from last year had breast cancer, so that’s why we invited them.”

With a large number of fans in the stands, Dalton said it means a lot to her to see the number of people who came out and supported what her and the team are trying to do.

“Just by coming to this game shows that they care about the issue,” Dalton said. There are people suffering with breast cancer … these fans are showing their support.”

In conjunction with the Volley Dawgs, the Relay for Life was present helping out in any way it could.

“This is a chance for the volleyball team to show their support and for the kids to get excited about it,” Renee Parrigan said. “As far as Relay is concerned, we bring the signs when we come and speak to the community about what they are doing. We want to thank the team and the community for getting behind a good cause,” Parrigan said.

The Relay for Life recognized the survivors who were present at the game. Those survivors included Fern Allen, Shirley Smith, Kim Rains, Glasgow’s former coach Lisa Underwood was represented by her husband Jerry and a family member represented Wendell Hurt.

“We want to show that even though you may not have a family member who has cancer, there are coworkers, friends and other members of the community who do have cancer,” Parrigan said. “Somebody you know has cancer. We want to show people that it is a community fight. We want our survivors to know that they are why we ‘Relay.’”

This year, the Relay for Life Committee has a goal to try and involve more survivors in different events throughout the year.

“Our goal last year was to stay all night long and we reached that,” Parrigan said. “Our goal this year is to get our survivors out and do more community things with them.”

Even though the Volley Dawgs raised money for the Relay for Life, Parrigan said the main focus was awareness.

“Hopefully all of this will bring awareness to the survivors in order to get them involved,” Parrigan said.

Not only did the volleyball start the tradition of having a “Cancer game,” but other sports have followed in its footsteps and are hosting games of their own in order to provide awareness and support for the community.

“Volleyball started it and the football team had a cancer game last year. I think they wore purple. We are also going to have a basketball game this winter,” Parrigan said. “We are hoping to get baseball and softball in this year. We are hoping to get every sport into doing it this year.”

In the upcoming months, there are several community events that will be held to help raise money for the Relay for Life and to provide awareness to the community.

Those events include: Grocery Day on October 5 at IGA from 3 p.m. until 7 p.m. Volunteers will be baggers and the store will donate a percentage of their sales to the American Cancer Society. Also they will be selling ribbons for the window all month which will also go to the ACS.

• Football Tackles Cancer on October 21, with a game against Green County. Survivors will be recognized during the game. The football players, cheerleaders, and band members have worked together to help raise money for the ACS.

The Clinton County High School Cheerleaders will also be having future cheerleaders helping them out on the sidelines.

• On November 13, Thankful Survivor Sunday will be held at 2 p.m at the Early Childhood Center lunchroom. This is a chance for relay members to mingle with the survivors of Clinton County and hear their story. Survivors who attendwill receive a goodie bag and door prizes will be given away.