Playing For A Cause

By Jeremy McDonald

jeremymcdonald73@gmail.com

DALLAS, Ore.– The Dallas Lady Dragons Volleyball program raised over 4,000 dollars in their Halloween Breast Cancer Awareness tournament Saturday at the Sand Pits at LaCreole Middle School.

With the pandemic challenged the Dallas Volleyball program’s annual Pink-Out game, the squad went another route to make it happen. With 12 Co-Ed teams from around the area came to the sand, and to compete on Halloween Day for a common cause.

All for the common cause to raise money for the cause and to be donated towards it. The Lady Dragons organizational choice for this tournament is the Salem Health Women’s Imaging Center.

“It was big, it was fun. It’s for a charity and a hospital. It was fun getting out here with everyone, from different schools and our school and have fun on Halloween,” said Dallas’ Ashton Foster.

Foster’s ‘The Incredible 4’, that included Foster, Joydan Wynia, Olivia Hale and Jordan Moore, had battled through the loser’s bracket to reach the tournament championship against Central. The Incredible 4 had lost to Central in the Championship quarterfinal round in their first meeting before the Dallas-based squad defeated the ‘Super Smash Bros’ ‘#squashgoals’ and the ‘Dallas Cowboys’ squads to set up the rematch.

Foster preparing to serve during one of the Dallas-based ‘Incredible 4’s’ matches Saturday afternoon (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)

“Oh it’s awesome, especially since we lost to them earlier in the bracket. So we had to work our way back in the losers bracket to play them again. Their a tough team, but it hurts to see them come win our tournament,” smiled Foster.

The Central squad brought some heavy hitters. Four of the Panthers Volleyball players grouped up with Stella Lopez, Jullet Alarcon, Kennedy Kantola, Katie Fraley on the same team. The athletic Steban Chavez, younger sibling of 2018 Central-grad Liz Chavez contributed to the Championship run for the Central quad team as well as went to court 1 against the Incredible 4.

The event Saturday helped raise $4,000 for charity as 12-teams took part in the event (Picture By Jeremy McDonald)

“It’s so much fun, going against our rival and being so close to some of the girls so we’re so totally want to beat them,” said Kantola. “And really have competition because they’re really good. I heard some mom’s talking there, ‘don’t let those Central guys beat up on you’ and I was like ‘ok?’ and totally took advantage of that.”

The Dallas based super-hero team took the first two sets 21-15 and 21-11 respectively in the first to 21 sets to force the decisive loser-out, first to 28 set for the title.

Fatigue seem to sank in for the Incredible 4, falling behind 3-0 in a hurry before tying at five apiece. The Dallas squad kept it close with the game until the 18-17 mark of the set where the Central squad wheeled off ten of the set’s next 15 points for the win.

In a world of uncertainty, it was fun just to get out and do something. Yeah it was for charity, players wore costume theme for the occasion, but at the end of the day it was just shear fun to get out and play for a good cause.

“It’s so much fun, especially with Corona putting everything on a pause and the intensity of a sport and in practices and stuff…it’s so much fun being out here and really just play Volleyball and not have a care. But yeah, it was fun,” said Kantola.

Photos By Jeremy McDonald