By: Kalyssa Chu, Staff Writer

On Oct. 10, the Mills High School girls varsity volleyball team (7-2) dominated league opponent South San Francisco High School (2-5) in a 3-0 match during this year’s “dig pink” game, which aimed to honor Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

Dig pink games are a common volleyball practice in which teams wear pink and rally fundraisers in support of breast cancer research and awareness. In honor of dig pink, the girls’ volleyball program team sold pink shirts and bandanas, with the funds going toward the team, and collected donations toward breast cancer research at the door.

This game was the first dig pink game under Mills’ second-year coach Lauren Ding, who hopes to make dig pink a staple of the program moving forward. “We as a team wanted to go ahead and do this for our school to bring more awareness,” said Ding, “It’s something that I would like to bring back as long as I’m here.”

Rocking pink accessories, Mills quickly set the tone for the night in the first set against South San Francisco (SSF), where the Vikings built a quick 10-4 lead—thanks to a series of powerful kills from captain Isabelle Yang (12) and middle blocker Abigail Purvey (10). Contrastingly, SSF gave up many points due to errors, which Mills took full advantage of. Despite a couple of errors mid-set, Mills bounced back with a fiery block by Purvey, bringing them to 24-13, before closing the set at 25-14. 

The second set followed a similar pattern, with Mills staying ahead despite some back-and-forth play. After a kill by Purvey broke an 8-8 tie, the Vikings surged ahead, eventually sealing the set 25-16 on an assist from Olivia Pan (11) to Briana Zhang (11) for the 24th point. The set ended on a final SSF error.

In the third and final set, the Vikings wasted no time building a 7-2 lead. A series of spikes, blocks, and aces kept the momentum in Mills’ favor. The set ended with a decisive hit by Tiffany Siu (10), securing the 25-12 victory and sweeping the match.

Mills’ hitters were on fire throughout the game, which Ding noted as a key factor in their victory. “We’ve been working a lot on running different plays and getting comfortable with that, which is something that we haven’t really done before,” Ding said, “I give them all kudos for trying new things and getting out of their comfort zone.”

Purvey stood out as one of the key players of the night. Her performance was crucial throughout the match, particularly in the middle of the second set, where she helped Mills pull ahead and stay in control. 

After playing on JV last year, Purvey has stepped into a key role on the varsity team, particularly in blocking and hitting. “I have my good and bad days, and today was a good one,” Purvey said after the match, “Because it was our dig pink game, I think we played extra strong today. We play well when we have a lot of energy.”

With this win, Mills improved its league record to 7-2, placing them third in their PAL division. Ding acknowledged that their upcoming matches would be tough but emphasized the team’s determination to finish strong. “We’re just really trying to ride the rest of the season out together, be supportive of one another, and continue to work hard,” Ding said. 

As the Vikings wrap up their season, the spirit of dig pink will remain a memorable highlight.