GHS Lady Bulldogs volleyball team holds ‘Pink Out’ night, beats Seymour
Photo by Karla Smith GHS volleyball Pink Out Members of the Gainesville High School volleyball team gathered for a quick photo before hitting the court to take on the Seymour Lady Tigers at Friday night’s Pink Out game and fundraiser. The event is held annually by the team as a way to raise breast cancer awareness and to raise money to help those who are battling breast cancer. Members of the team are, from left, Regan Blackburn, Rylee Kowerduck, Addi Garrison, Lilly Hejdak; (middle row) Claire Turner, Avery Gaulding, Twyla Parkison, Baylor Hewett, Macy Hambelton, (back row) Alli Garrison, Lola Wade, Addie Alms and Kylie Leatherwood. The girls are coach by Heidi Gaulding and Paige Frontera.
Pink was everywhere at the Gainesville High School gym Friday night, when the Lady Bulldogs hosted their annual “Pink Out” game. The evening was set aside to help raise breast cancer awareness and to raise funds to help those who are fighting the cancer battle.
Fans, clad in pink, filled the bleachers to help cheer on the Lady Bulldogs who took on the Seymour Lady Tigers.
The Lady Bulldogs won the match in three sets (25-19, 25-15, 25-17). Addie Alms had 15 kills, followed by Macy Hambelton with 6 kills. Lilly Hejdak had four service aces, and Rylee Kowerduck had 15 digs. Baylor Hewett brought in 27 assists that night. The JV also won their match (25-12, 25-11).
“We raised $603.50 to donate to Ms. Debbie Eslinger,” said GHS Coach Heidi Gaulding. “At the game, we did not announce who the money would be given to. We just said that it would go to a ‘proud supporter of the Gainesville Bulldogs who has a heart for supporting our students.’”
Coach Gaulding met up with Debbie just before she began her evening Gainesville bus route on Monday to surprise her with the proceeds from the event. “She didn’t know that she would be the recipient of the money collected during our Pink Out game, so it definitely caught her by surprise,” Gaulding told the Times. “I think her initial response was ‘Oh, this is too much money; I can’t take this!’ as tears filled her eyes. To say she was grateful would be an understatement.”
Later Monday evening, Eslinger emailed Gaulding to say thank you.
“I would love to thank everyone for their kindness. It means so much to me. Loved all the prayers and thoughtful hearts as I take my journey. I am truly blessed with support and God’s hand, so please share my heartfelt thank you,” the note said.
Next up for the Lady Bulldogs was the Houston Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 4.
“We faced some tough competition and put up a fight against each team we faced but fell short,” Coach Gaulding said of the pool-play tournament. The Lady Bulldogs tied with Lesterville (19-25, 25-22) in the first match, and followed that with a loss to Willow Springs (20-25, 21-25) and a loss to Salem (15-25, 20-25). They advanced to the Silver bracket with a first round bye and then a loss to Lesterville (26-24, 14-25, 20-25).
The Gainesville team hosted Houston Tuesday, Oct. 7 for a regular season match with the Lady Tigers. Results of that game were unavailable at presstime. The Lady Bulldogs travel to Dora for a 5:30 p.m. match on Thursday, Oct. 9.