A “stop breast cancer” sign hangs on the wall of the Grant Union High School gym during the volleyball team’s Dig Pink fundraiser and breast cancer awareness campaign on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022.

JOHN DAY — Pink-clad volleyball fans descended on Grant Union High School Saturday, Oct., 15, for the Lady Pros’ annual Dig Pink event to raise money and awareness for breast cancer patients, with the home team winning both its matches.

Fundraising efforts for Dig Pink included selling ribbons with the names of individuals who had breast cancer or were survivors as well as selling raffle tickets for one of 13 assorted baskets made for the event.

All proceeds associated with the Dig Pink event will go directly to Blue Mountain Hospital to be used by patients who have breast cancer and are currently going through treatment.

Along with the Dig Pink fundraising activities came a full day of volleyball, with the Lady Pros playing two matches during the event. The first was a convincing 3-0 sweep of the Outlaws of Enterprise.

The first game of the set saw Grant Union score 16 unanswered points before Enterprise got onto the board. A brief Outlaw rally was stopped cold by the Lady Pros, who cruised to a 25-6 win.

The second game was a back-and-forth affair. The Lady Pros clawed back from five-point deficits on two separate occasions before winning the game 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Grant Union would again start hot in the third game, scoring the contest’s first five points and forcing Enterprise to call a timeout as it looked to regroup while staring at a 20-9 Lady Pro lead. The Lady Pros would surrender just two more points following the timeout to win the third game 25-11 for a 3-0 sweep of the Outlaws.

The second match on Grant Union’s schedule for the day was the finale of the Dig Pink festivities, a matchup with the Lady Mustangs of Heppner.

The back-and-forth match went to five games and ended with the Lady Pros victorious, 3-2.

The first game of the contest saw the Lady Pros and Lady Mustangs match one another score for score almost the entire way. Grant Union would fall behind 21-24 and later rally to tie the game at 24. The Lady Mustangs would blunt that rally and escape with a close 26-24 win to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second game was a little more decisive as the Lady Pros forced Heppner to play from behind throughout the entire contest. The Lady Pros built an early six-point lead that they sustained throughout the game to level the match at 1-1 after a 25-19 win.

The third game would again see the Lady Pros build an early lead only to have the Lady Mustangs rally and tighten the contest. Heppner would tie the game twice late, at 22 and 24 points, but the effort wouldn’t be enough as the Lady Pros emerged with a 26-24 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.

Game four was another hard-fought contest, but Heppner pulled away late for a 26-24 win that left the match deadlocked at 2-2.

The fifth and final game was much like the previous four.

The Lady Pros built a lead only for the Lady Mustangs to chip away at it, threatening to secure a comeback win. A Grant Union timeout with the score tied at 8-8 allowed the Lady Pros to regroup and grind out a 15-13 win to take the match 3-2.

Grant Union head coach Miranda Moulton said her team didn’t play their best during the first match, despite the 3-0 win. “We still won, but they know they could’ve played better,” Moulton said.

Using that performance in the first game as a measuring stick, Moulton said the goal in the second match was for the team to play their best, whether they won or lost. “The second game our goal was to win or lose playing our best, and I think we did that the second game,” Moulton said.

The Lady Pros have one more game left on their schedule before the district tournament. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, Stanfield will come to town for Senior Night. Tipoff for that game is scheduled for 4 p.m.