Girls V-ball: Eagles, Panthers dig pink
On emotional day, Swiderski leads R.P. to victory
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MILLER PLACE--High above the bleachers at Miller Place High School Friday, two students taped K's to the wall representing each kill, like a baseball fan tallying strikeouts, in the Panthers' match against the Rocky Point Eagles.
When it was over, a 3-1 Eagles' win, 37 K's hung on the wall. More than a third of those were courtesy of Rocky Point sophomore Catie Swiderski.
On a day that transcended sport, it was only fitting Swiderski stood out as the best player on the court. As part of the Dig Pink breast cancer awareness rally, the teams combined efforts for a fundraiser that took center stage over the match itself.
Four years ago Swiderski lost her 40-year-old mother to breast cancer, making Friday's events all the more special.
"Every school's doing [a fundraiser] so it's really exciting," Swiderski said.
Back in August at the Suffolk Volleyball Coaches Association's meeting, Ward Melville coach Charlie Fernandes recommended county-wide fund-raisers during a week in October to coincide with the Side-Out Foundation, an organization formed in 2004 to raise money and awareness through volleyball. Swiderski plays for Fernandes on a club team, which gave him the idea.
When Miller Place coach Mary Anne Martin and Rocky Point coach Cindy Krejci realized they were playing each other that week, they wanted to spruce up their fundraiser into a bigger event. Something more than a bake sale.
"By coincidence, my husband had coached Catie with my daughter in St. Anthony's basketball," Martin said.
He coached Swiderski the same year her mom died.
"When I mentioned it to him he was like 'that's my Catie Swiderski,'" Martin said.
The gymnasium at Miller Place was decked out in pink Friday and the Panthers wore pink jerseys. Students sold pink ribbons and pins to the fans and several gift baskets were raffled off.
The Panthers (3-7 League VI, 4-10) raised just over $2,000 alone, Martin said, which all came from the kid's fund-raising ideas.
"They just ran with it and it was wonderful," she said.
While losing a mother is never easy, especially at a young age, Swiderski remains upbeat about her future, which includes a lot of volleyball.
"We knew it was coming," she said of her mom passing. "We just cope as best we can. And I think my life's pretty good."
Swiderski tallied 13 kills for the Eagles, even without playing the full match up front as a hitter. Krejci rotates Swiderski in the back row at times, where she's an excellent passer.
But that doesn't lead to as many opportunities for big hits. She does admit, there's an extra thrill delivering a booming spike.
"There's a lot of adrenaline," she said. "It's very exciting."
Martin said while Swiderski is a force to deal with on the other side of the net, she's a nice kid foremost.
"She's a talented volleyball player," she said.
The loss for the Panthers eliminated them from the postseason and the Eagles (4-7 League VI, 5-10) followed suit after losses to East Hampton and Harborfields.
When the Panthers gathered for practice Monday, their first since Friday's match, the players were still in a daze, Martin said.
"We cleaned up what was left in the gym and we talked about our season and I let them go because it really hit them they lost," Martin said. "It hit a couple of my seniors hard where they were so distracted with the fundraiser and having done so well with it that it didn't really hit them on Friday."
The Panthers won the second game of the match, 25-19, but lost the other three, 25-20, 25-11, 25-19. In the third game the Eagles pulled away behind Swiderski's serve as they rallied five straight points for an 18-8 lead. Junior Marsha Fils helped end it by serving for five straight points to make it 24-11.
"Our biggest rival is Miller Place and they beat us twice last year in five games," Swiderski said. "So we're happy to get this win."
"Rocky Point played a very good match," Martin said. "They hit when they had to hit and they hit well."
Swiderski knows as she gets older she'll have to pay close attention to her own risk for breast cancer.
Her advice to people is to raise awareness and learn how to detect it before it's too late.
"Early detection is really important," she said.
joew@northshoresun.com
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