Written By: Owen Weems, Staff Writer
RIVALRY: Our Riverside Poly Girls Volleyball team faces their rivals, King High School, in a very tight match that is not likely to be forgotten any time soon.
If you were to enter Poly’s main gym on September 21, 2023, you would have been immediately aware of the energy and excitement bubbling up within the space. From the music playing from the speakers overhead, to the hubbub of spectators and fans chatting with one another; the noise and anticipation was so tangible that you could almost reach out and grab it. Although the commotion was hard to miss, the most striking thing in the gym was the overwhelming amount of pink. Everything was pink. A pink balloon arch stretched across the entrance of the gym, the players wore specially made pink jerseys, and everywhere you looked there was a fan with some sort of pink attire. It was time for the Girls Volleyball Pink Out Game against King, a philanthropic tradition that has been going on for many seasons here at Poly.
The Pink Out Game was started to raise awareness for breast cancer, specifically “metastatic breast cancer, the most developed form of the disease” which is also the “least funded area of research.” The pink is, of course, Poly’s way of showing our support for the strong women that have to contend with this potentially fatal condition. Through the program, they have been able to raise “thousands of dollars every year,” which has all gone towards helping the women forced to fight against breast cancer. After Coach Fulwider, the varsity coach of the girls team, finished giving a short speech to explain the purpose of the fundraiser, they had one more small tradition to do. Although this part of the ceremony took up very little time, it was possibly the most impactful part of the night. Those that had suffered from breast cancer or had a family member that had were asked to “raise [their] hand if [they] would like to be honored for [their] fight.” The girls on the team handed a small bouquet of flowers to each woman who raised their hand to commemorate them and the hardships they have had to endure. Now, with the touching and heartfelt ceremony complete, the match began. With the blow of the whistle and a loud buzz coming from the scoreboard, the Girls Pink Out Game got underway.
One of Poly’s Liberos, Kaitlyn Braydon, preparing for the oncoming ball
Photo by Allurabella Chandler
The first set of the match started off with some incredible energy. The student section, excited for the match and not yet tired, started screaming to their hearts’ delight. Sam Bonzoumet (11) is a member of Green Machine, a club dedicated to inspiring school spirit and bringing energy to sports matches at Poly. “[He loves] the energy at volleyball matches” and always does his best to keep the hype up throughout the match. Along with fans and other Green Machine members alike, Sam Bonzoumet screams out the many diverse volleyball cheers. The girls started off strong with, able to create a couple point lead to start off the first set. Michelle Milligan, an 11th grader and captain of the team, stresses the importance of “keeping the energy up” on the court during any match. Their “positive outlook and cooperation” is a key factor in deciding the outcome of a match. In this set, they were doing just that. The communication on the Poly side was strong and the energy, a mixture of both the fans screaming from the sidelines and the leading of the captains, was high which helped the Poly team only further expand their lead. It was a battle of pink on pink. King, also hoping to raise money for breast cancer awareness, wore pink to the game. As the game went on, it was easier to distinguish between the teams, but in the beginning, one could get confused by the flurry of pink jerseys flying across the court. Despite that, the student section and parent supporters kept the energy high. Michelle Milligan noticed that the “spirit of the fans was crazy” compared to any other match she had participated in recently. Miraculously, the noise in the stands somehow did not interrupt or affect the players on Poly. Milligan has taught herself how to “be unfazed despite the noise around her.” All the girls seemed to be getting in the groove, and although King had some pretty good plays, Poly had more. Eventually the Poly team, after many good kills and even a couple of very impressive aces, were able to win the first set of the match by a few points.
Ariel Wright leaping to spike a ball during their warm-up.
Photo by Allurabella Chandler
The second set of the Pink Out match began in a very similar way to the first. Poly started out of the gates blazing by winning themselves a couple point lead. Our girls seemed to be finding their groove. With good spikes from Dakota, and great passing from the team as a whole, they only further expanded their lead on the opposing team. The general lack of success on the King side of the board seemed to be getting to them. A fellow fan and ASB member, Gunnar Gifford (11), said that he noticed “that the loud cheers seemed to get to them.” Michelle Milligan and the other girls were “full of energy. The team spirit was very high.” This is partially thanks to the loud cheers, but also thanks to the captains of the team who never failed to pump up their teammates. Once again, the Poly Bears were able to get the Wolves on the ropes and were on the verge of securing their second win. This would be important because a team only needs to win 3 out of the 5 sets of a volleyball match to come out on top. At this point, the energy of the stands was at its peak. The students in the stand had unified to cheer louder than they had ever had before. Some girls remarked that “it was the loudest that they had ever heard the gym be.” Luckily, they were once again able to pull out ahead in this set, increasing their lead from a one set advantage to two.
In the third and fourth set, King had a surge that made the game more interesting. Unlike the previous two sets, King started off the third set in the lead. Our teams went back and forth, desperately fighting to keep the lead. It seemed to be that the Wolves were able to find their groove during the beginning of the third set to give the Poly Bears a real challenge. The energy on the side lines maintained most of the energy. ASB along with the other students in the cheering section maintained their energy hoping to motivate the girls. Michelle Milligan, as the captain, “cheered as loud as possible to make sure the girls didn’t get discouraged.” Our girls still had many good plays and a lot of good kills, but so did King. This set had all the onlookers on the edge of their seats, because many times throughout the set the energy shifted from team to team as the score changed. We would be on top, but a moment later, King would score a couple points and gain the advantage. Sadly, King won the third set, pulling ahead at the end by a couple points to bring the overall score to Poly 2, King 1.
The Poly Girls Varsity Team, dancing during their warm-up before the match.
Photo by Allurabella Chandler
The fourth set started off similar to the third. Our Poly girls “seemed to be getting a little tired” and lost some of the communication between themselves that was giving them the edge. Despite this, we still fought hard and made sure it was a game to behold. It was a game of twists and turns, ups and downs, and unexpected events that made it a joy to watch. As the fans watched the game progress, despite the length of the match, no excitement was lost. If anything the fans still present were cheering louder than ever. After a close fourth set, Poly wasn’t able to pull out ahead though the entertainment and excitement that they left the fans with was not something to disregard. King winning this match made it a tie game, meaning that it all came down to the last set.
The girls were “nervous and a little worried” going into the last set, but had a determination to win against their rivals. The last set always goes by quickly due to the fact that it goes to 15 points instead of 25, so the anticipation in the gym was high, and out of all the sets, this one was the most nail biting. It was back and forth the entire time. Both teams were visibly tired and just trying their best to score points. The girls fought hard for each point but sadly lost the fifth and final set by a mere couple points. “It was a hard loss for the girls,” but the energy of the gym was ecstatic and it is not a game that you would have wanted to miss if you were a volleyball fan. In the end, no matter who won or lost, the best part of the match and ultimately the most meaningful was the purpose that the match held for those with the disease that many suffer from. Knowing that the girls were playing for such an important fundraiser made the match that much more memorable. It was an amazing game and if you ever find yourself interested in watching volleyball, you should go to the next home match and experience the energy for yourself. The Poly Pink Out Volleyball game was an amazing experience with a wonderful goal that shows that anyone can find their own meaningful way to contribute to those in need.
Captain, Michelle Milligan, posing for the camera
Photo by Allurabella Chandler