Dig For Life volleyball tournament set to begin today

~ Forty-eight teams will gather in Cape for tourney and draw awareness for cancer

High School volleyball teams from all across Southeast Missouri will assemble this weekend in Cape Girardeau to compete for more than just trophies and awards.

The annual Dig For Life Classic volleyball tournament will feature a field of 48 teams and is geared toward breast cancer awareness. Proceeds from the event benefit Saint Francis Hospital's Dig For Life program, which was founded by former Southeast Missouri State volleyball coach Cindy Gannon and helps fund mammogram screenings for local women that are unable to afford the screenings.

"I think it's a great cause," Notre Dame coach Tara Stroup said. "It's really raised a lot of awareness. We had a 'pink out' game for one of our games at SportsFest, and I know a lot of schools do that now.

"I think it's a really good thing for the girls to be aware of that cause, and a lot of people in the community come together to make donations and support that cause. ... You know, there are 48 teams in the tournament, and all those teams have probably 10 to 12 players. Then there's coaches, managers and parents. It's bringing a lot of people in."

The tournament is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. Friday with the final matches of pool play at 9:40 a.m. Saturday. Action will take place at the Show Me Center, the Southeast Missouri State Recreation Center and Notre Dame Regional High School.

"I think it's a great experience. There are a lot of those schools that we never see or play unless we see them here," said Stroup, whose team is a two-time defending champion in the tournament and defeated Dexter 2-1 in last year's gold bracket championship. "Some of our girls, even when we're not playing, they like to walk around and watch other teams play and see where everyone is from. They get to see a lot of volleyball and not just play. A lot of them will spend Friday evening at the Show Me Center just going around from court to court, watching other teams."

The tournament is divided into 16 pools with three teams apiece. Teams will square off against competition within their own pool. Following pool play, the top squad from each pool will compete in the gold bracket, while the second-place teams will advance to the silver bracket and the third-place teams to the bronze bracket.

Area teams competing in the tournament include Advance (Pool D), Bell City (Pool D), Central (Pool G), Jackson (Pool L), Leopold (Pool H), Meadow Heights (Pool F), Notre Dame (Pool F), Oak Ridge (Pool I), Oran (Pool O), Saxony Lutheran (Pool O), Scott City (Pool L), St. Vincent (Pool I), Woodland (Pool M) and Zalma (Pool F).

Stroup said her young squad was a little shaky during last week's VolleyballFest at Notre Dame but is encouraged by what it's been able to accomplish this week, defeating St. Vincent and Ste. Genevieve in 2-0 decisions.

"I think we're pretty prepared," Stroup said. "I think we've turned a little bit of a corner this week and started playing more consistently, so I think that's just what it takes. That's another reason I think this tournament at this time of the year is a really good time to compete because you're getting to play so many games at one time."