Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com – McKinleyville’s Cameron Heenan, left, and Hailee Henry, along with their teammates, have gone “above and beyond” in their fundraising efforts for the Dig Pink night this year.

By Ray Hamill — The McKinleyville girls have been impressing on and off the volleyball court this season.

Not only are they in contention for the Big 5 championship with just three games remaining, but they continue to set a lofty standard off the court with their fundraising efforts.

On Tuesday night the Panthers will host Fortuna in their fifth annual Dig Pink night, a fundraiser for the Breast and GYN Health Project in Arcata.

The fundraising efforts involve the JV and varsity players getting sponsors to donate for each dig they record, and tallying up the number of combined digs the two teams record for the night.

The event has grown each year and head coach Janis Grondalski is hoping to raise $8,000 this year to bring the five-year total to a very impressive $24,000.

“All of our athletes have gone above and beyond this year as far getting sponsors,” Grondalski said.

So much so, in fact, the Panthers have had to reconsider their goals for this year’s event, after raising a total of $16,000 over the past four years.

“Each year we’ve gotten more and more money, and our goal this year was to make it over $20,000 (total), and we already have that,” the head coach said. “Now we’re hoping to get close to $24,000, which is our goal now.”

For the match, both teams will wear pink uniforms, with the JVs getting the action started at 5:30 p.m., followed by the varsity game.

Fans, who are also encouraged to wear pink, can donate on the night, and 100 percent of the funds raised go to the health project.

This will mark the third straight year Fortuna has been the opponent for the event, and Grondalski said that Fortuna coach Lynsey Adams and her players have been very supportive each time.

“It’s a good spirited volleyball match and for a good cause,” Grondalski said. “It’s a fun way to do a fundraiser for a very important non-profit.”’

Let’s hope for a long match, because the more sets they play the more money they’ll raise.