The Pirates for Pirates Challenge is happening now, and this is your opportunity to give back with your support for Volleyball!

We had a great weekend on the road in Jackson, MS, defeating both Rhodes College and Millsaps College. We continue to do some nice things defensively behind our block. Tatum Ahrens and Izzy Rodriguez led the defensive effort, with 20 and 19 digs, respectively, with Tatum being recognized this week as the SAA Defensive Player of the Week. We continue to see our team truly competing point for point. Tomorrow night, we take on Concordia. I hope to see you at the game or tune in to watch at 6 pm CDT.

While we are in the middle of our season, there are some opportunities for your support to have a direct impact on the program. I am looking to replace two more of our volleyball net poles and upgrade our balls as well. Ordering branded balls elevates our program's look, and it increases our brand recognition when hosting our youth camps. We hosted two full youth camps this past August, growing our reach in Central Texas.

Given our road schedule, support is always appreciated, as we'll head to Kentucky next weekend and to Tennessee at the end of the month. A few of our travel rolling bags were damaged last season, so we are replacing them. Our small rollers are great for local travel, but the big rollers are needed for our longer, multi-event trips. We will need to replace our team backpacks for the fall of 2027. To have a quality backpack that we can use for three years, branded and representing the Pirate Volleyball program, costs about $75.00 per bag. This type of support makes a wonderful impact on how the team feels about this program.

Gifts of all sizes collectively impact our programs and elevate the experience each athlete receives. Make your gift today and help us exceed our goal of 80 donors to Volleyball. When we reach our donor goal, I will take a dive in the pool, and it will also unlock an additional $5,000 from Higginbotham Insurance. We also have an anonymous donor offering a generous matching gift opportunity to double your impact, giving $1 for $1, up to $5,000!

Thank you and Go Pirates!

Don Flora
Head Women's Volleyball Coach