The atmosphere was tense as Robinson and Steinbrenner battled on Monday, October 9. As the rallies continued, the only noises came from the squeaking volleyball shoes, occasional grunt as players moved around the court and the telecasters’ play-by-play, as the game was broadcasted live as Spectrum Sports Game of the Week.  The Lady Knights (18-3) defeated the Warriors (11-5) in four sets.

“It was amazing. Our district isn’t that strong so we don’t get a lot of games like this with hot competition,” head coach Ashley “AJ” Johnson said. “And I think having the cameras here definitely increased the adrenaline for the girls, it made it much more college like.”

Although the final score looks like the Lady Knights won by a landslide, each point was earned. Robinson won the first two sets by scores of 26-24 and 25-14. They then fell short in the third set and lost 28-26, but clinched the win by defeating the Warriors 25-17 in the final set.

Mila Yarich (’21) led the Lady Knights with 11 kills, followed by Kristin Werdine (’19) with 10 kills. Elly Frierson (’18) led the team with 22 assists.

“We had good momentum throughout the whole game and I think that’s why we won,” Frierson said. “It was also really cool to see it all happen live and now I get to go home and watch it on TV.”

Although the stands were packed with Steinbrenner and Robinson fans, there was an underwhelming amount of school colors in the bleachers, as those colors were replaced by pink in honor of the Dig Pink Fundraiser. Both teams warmed up in Dig Pink shirts and fans were handed pink pom poms as they entered the gym.

After the second set, Lady Knights honored breast cancer survivors by bringing them on the court and handing them a pink rose. Among the honorees were Robinson teachers and cancer survivors Kristina Chowning and Susan DiFederico.

“It just so happened that Spectrum Sports televised the game on the same night as Dig Pink, which was really special because our honorees got to be on TV,” Johnson said. “Steinbrenner also joined us in fundraising so it was great.”