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Moffat County’s Ebawnee Smercina a cut above with hair donation as part of Bulldog volleyball Pink Night

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Andy Bockelman
  

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The Moffat County High School volleyball program’s resident Rapunzel ended the night Tuesday with a few fewer inches of length for her brunette locks, but a shorter coif is more than worth the reward she felt as a result.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

As part of Bulldog volleyball’s Pink Night festivities, MCHS senior Ebawnee Smercina took the opportunity to snip off part of her hair as a donation for Wigs for Kids, a nonprofit organization that provides hairpieces for children with hair loss from numerous causes, among them chemotherapy for cancer treatment.

Smercina said she has been considering the act since her freshman year and has not trimmed her hair since then, growing it to a full length of 33 inches.

With two tightly bundled braids on the end, Smercina had 16 inches cut to give to the cause.

Wigs for Kids requires a minimum of 12 inches per donation to refashion for wigs. It should be cut by a professional and needs to be thick and healthy, as well as undyed.

The decision was not one she took lightly.

“My hair is such a big part of my life, so parting with it is sad but at the same time, it’s for such a good cause,” she said.

As part of Pink Night and Breast Cancer Awareness Month, varsity volleyball players — clad in hot pink t-shirts, socks and ribbons — provided roses for survivors of all types of cancer, with signs in the gym stating, “Think Pink” and “Let’s Spike Cancer!” leading up to the evening’s games with the Grand Junction Central Warriors.

The way of the Warrior

The varsity team fell in three sets to Central, despite coming out on fire at the net as Smercina and Jaidyn Steele put up a wall against the Warriors to start the night.

Bulldogs held a 10-3 lead to begin the set, but the Warriors kept chipping away, tying it at 16 and keeping the advantage until they ended the round with the 25-20 win.

Lady Dogs kept it even for much of the second set, right up until the 10th point, as Central started to take control, moving their way to a 25-18 win.

Moffat County girls’ previously tight play unraveled in the third set as their own blocks and spikes started to work against them, complete with an 11-point run by the Warriors that helped the Junction team take it 25-9.

Altogether, the Bulldogs had 15 kills, five by Steele and four from Jenna Timmer. Libero Terry Gillett had 12 digs and at setter, Smercina compiled 13 assists.

A huge night for blocks included seven from Steele and four by Timmer as part of 13 total.

“That was a big thing for us tonight, we knew they had a tough hitter, so we wanted to put as many blocks up as we could,” coach Jessica Profumo said.

Profumo said she could tell players had lost their enthusiasm by the third set.

“It’s hard once you’ve fought really hard and lost two close ones, and I always want to say, ‘come back with more,’ but it’s hard to do that,” she said.

MCHS is 5-11 on the season and will travel Saturday to Parachute to face the Grand Valley Cardinals, followed by JV and varsity games starting at 6:30 p.m. Monday against Soroco, which will also serve as Senior Night.

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