By RYAN WALKER

The Allen County Athletic Conference matchup between Bluffton and Southern Wells ended up in a 3-0 sweep for the Tigers, earning its first conference victory of the season (1-3).

But the Raiderdome had a special twist to it Thursday night.

The arena was decorated with pink streamers, pink signs for the players on the walls, pink posters, and more. It was their annual pink-out night dedicated to cancer research and honoring those affected by cancer.

Bluffton’s Maryn Shreiber (left) takes flight agasint the Southern Wells defender Brooke Tonner (right). (Photo by Ryan Walker)

“We definitely do this to honor all of those affected by any sort of cancer,” Raiders coach Karie Lavanchy said. “Yes, pink for breast cancer, but we really want to support and honor those that have been affected.”

All of the money raised would be split between the Susan G. Komen foundation and the Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana, according to Lavanchy.

Lavanchy says that it’s important to give back and help on both the breast cancer side but also the local side in both organizations.

Among the decorations, both sides of the arena filled up with noisy fans ready for volleyball, including a few rows of standing students.

The first set started with a quick 9-2 lead for the Tigers before a timeout was called on the other end of the floor. 

But it would do no good, as more scoring from the Tigers mounted an eight-point streak. The score was 13-2, silencing the crowd that previously was causing a ruckus before the game. 

It was Bluffton coach Stacy Morrison’s team that had the momentum, but also the shift in loud cheering.

“We’ve been really pushing to make sure that we cheer for everything,” she said. “Cheer for the little things, cheer for the big things. That’s one of the things we’re working on is staying loud and not get down and get quiet. Because when you’re quiet, you don’t play as well together.”

Sometime later in the set, Morrison’s rowdy bunch continued to pounce on the scoreboard at 19-8.

The set was all but won. But the Raiders came crawling back, scraping a few points together, and then all of a sudden, the players picked up some energy behind the crowd.

The margin, however, was too much to overcome, but after a four-point streak, Southern Wells cut the lead down. They entered the set with new life, thanks to some extra firepower.

“Whenever we have the student section show up, and they’re cheering loud, it just gives us a sense of pride and energy to what they’re doing (the team),” coach Lavanchy said.

The second set began with Southern Wells racking up the first two points, looking like they could build on the energy, but the Tigers fought back. The set was one to forget, finishing at 25-12.

In the third set, it was much like the first one. Bluffton got off to a hot start and continued to pour the points on. Southern Wells called a timeout at 17-9, followed by three more points to make it 20-9 with no life left beside the Tiger bench.

Not so fast.

Lavanchy’s squad started to crawl back again, despite being down two sets with Bluffton on the heels of completing the sweep. 

They picked up their 10th point, then their 11th, trading a few scores with the Tigers, and then broke free for a four-point swing before the end of the set. The Raiders inched their way to a 24-20 deficit.

Before the final point going to Bluffton to win the game for a sweep, Southern Wells went on an 11-4 run.

“For some reason, right now, we start slow,” Lavanchy said. “We don’t come out fighting like we know how to fight, and you can see that we know how to. But for some reason, it’s not clicking 25 points in. It’s waiting until the end.”

On Morrison’s side, they’re fighting through some troubles between injuries and illnesses.

“Once again, we faced adversity. Emma Baumgartner, our normal setter, found out she had pink eye, so, without practice, we just threw in a lineup with Haley back in as the setter, and once again, they worked as a team,” Morrison said.

After losing their first three ACAC games, this one was just what they needed.

“It feels good, it feels good,” she said.

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