Lindenhurst Varsity Girls Volleyball Is in the Pink

The phrase “in the pink” usually indicates someone in good health. This time it means that the will be suiting up with pink accents in honor of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

For the past few years the ’s participated in the Side-Out Foundation’s Dig Pink October Rally initiative for which teams at all levels from all over the country – and overseas – select a home match to declare their Dig Pink day, according to the foundation’s website.

“All through October Suffolk and Nassau school teams pick a home game as a Dig Pink event,” Head Coach told Lindenhurst Patch. “We picked the tournament we’re hosting on October 22.”

The includes 16 teams from public and Catholic schools in Suffolk and Nassau.

“There are four pools of play. Each team plays twice. At the end the teams are ranked by points accumulated, and the bottom four go home,” explained Block. “The top 12 teams play each other until two are left in the final. One is the winner; the other, the runner-up.”

With myriad teams playing at both the LHS and and it being , attendance is expected to be higher than a regular home game would normally be. That’s why, Block said, they chose it as this year’s event.

“There will be about 200 people there,” she said. “I figured it’d be a good time to do it. Last year we did a home game.”

While admission is free, proceeds from the concession stands and sales of long-sleeve and short-sleeve T-shirts will go to Side-Out, which was started in 2004 “to unite volleyball players and coaches, and have them work toward furthering breast cancer awareness, education and patient services.”

Block estimated last year’s game raised about $800. This year because the size of the event, the expectations are higher.

Those interested in donating could also log onto SuffolkCountyDigsPink.org where a list of all of the Suffolk County Dig Pink events – including this tourney and the Dig Pink game at West Islip the Lady Bulldogs won Wednesday, 3-1 – could be found along with links to each participating team’s fundraising site on the main Dig Pink site.

That site’s maintained by Ward Melville Head Coach Charlie Ferndandes, who, Block said, organized the Dig Pink effort in Suffolk a few years ago.

Besides Lindenhurst, teams participating in this year’s tournament include Baldwin, Bayport-Blue Point, Bay Shore, Comsewogue, East Hampton, Half Hollow Hills East, Kellenberg, Long Beach, Massapequa, Northport, Smithtown East, Saint Anthony’s, West Hampton, West Hempstead and West Islip.

It’s an annual non-league event that allows teams to get in extra play during the season.

“Once a season at the end of September or October, teams get together for this. It allows us to play more than just one game against each other,” Block said.

That goes a long way when Lindenhurst’s team is one that’s earned , and last season went 25-5 overall according to MaxPreps, and went 11-0 in League II play.

This season the ’s currently 7-0 in the league, said Block. And that includes a win against Ward Melville, which the team beat in the county finals last year.

Next up is Bay Shore at home on Friday at 4:30 p.m., and following the tourney watch for the team’s matchup on the road against Smithtown East on October 25 at 5:45 p.m.

“The winner will probably end up with the one seed, so we’re hoping to win that one,” Block said.

Editor's Note: For a tourney wrap-up click , and take a look through the at highlights of the event .

Residents: If you know of resources, groups, efforts, initiatives, businesses "going pink" and other events specific to Lindenhurst, then would like to know.

Add them in the comments below, and share these groups - as well as - with Lindenhurst Patch all through October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, by e-mailing barbara.loehr@patch.com, and sharing them on Facebook and Twitter.

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