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TRUMAN - When Truman faces Martin Luther/Grana-da-Huntley-East Chain in volleyball Oct. 19, the match is sure to be an emotional one, especially for Kelsey Sackett and Becca Hintz, two juniors at Truman High School.

Pink and teal volleyballs will be flying during the warmup, but the theme doesn't stop there.

"We're going to be decked out in teal and pink that night," Becca said.

And she means it - from the ribbons in their hair, to their uniforms, to the shoelaces on their feet.

The colors represent the people who have fought breast and ovarian cancer. The colors represent Kelsey and Becca's mothers.

Daphne Sackett was diagnosed with ovarian cancer on Feb. 1, 2008. Kaycee Hintz learned she had breast cancer on Oct. 3, 2008. Both have completed treatment and received positive news at their last checkups.

"It's obviously tough having your mom go through cancer," Becca said, struggling to describe the past year as her mother sat close beside her.

"We are best friends, best friends since kindergarten," she said, referring to Kelsey. "It helped because we both know how it feels."

Kelsey agreed: "I'm here for you and you're here for me."

That's been the reaction from the whole community, it seems.

"Support from the town and friends and family has been awesome - overwhelming, in fact," Daphne said. "It's made it much easier to deal with."

When Truman coach Steve Schlager learned about Side-Out Foundation's Dig Pink rally - a national campaign to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer - he was confident his team would support the cause. And he was right.

"It's great!"

"Cool!"

"Amazing!"

"Sweet," the girls said, almost in unison.

"We're doing something - by playing volleyball, we're helping," said Bobbi Sherman, a Truman volleyball player.

Before joining the Side-Out campaign, the players added their own twist. Their fund-raiser is "Dig Pink/Rally for Teal," an effort co-sponsored by the Martin Luther/Granada-Huntley-East Chain team.

The timing of the volleyball match is significant, since October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and September was Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month.

"I thought of doing this for two very good reasons," Schlager said, nodding at Daphne and Kaycee. "I've been coaching for 20 years. I never had moms affected by cancer like this."

When they learned what their daughters' team was planning, Kaycee said, "I couldn't help it. I just started crying."

The two mothers became friends when they were pregnant with their daughters. Over the years, they've done everything together - church, Girl Scouts, camping, volleyball - even their battles with cancer.

"Going through this, we just became closer," Daphne said.

As the girls recently wrapped up a practice session in the high school gym, Schlager hollered, "I got 53 pink volleyballs in, and I'll have to order more."

The news was met with cheers from the team.

"Every volleyball will have the name of someone affected by cancer," Daphne said. "It can be any kind of cancer."

Purchasing volleyballs is just one way people have supported the cause. The girls also are selling "Dig Pink/Rally for Teal" T-shirts, and paper volleyball cutouts to decorate the gym wall, each bearing the name of someone who's battled cancer.

"Everybody's just so excited to help out. It's actually pretty amazing the amount of people who've stepped forward," Schlager said. "One thousand dollars was our goal, and some of us thought, 'Oh boy, that's way too high. ... Everybody is so hit up for money this time of year. ... But it's amazing, we nearly reached our goal with just the shirts."

Hintz's oncologist, Dr. Glenn Harman will announce the teams, and chemotherapy nurses will be there as well. There are wristbands and miniature volleyballs to be thrown out into the audience, and Sackett has flowered teal bandannas she's hoping the Truman boys won't mind wearing. Cotton candy and snow cones will be sold, and a silent auction will take place.

"Thing is, we're going to have to try to ignore the hoopla while we're playing," Schlager said.

More information about contributing to the fund-raiser is available through the Side-Out Web site, www.side-out.org, or by calling Truman High School (507) 776-2111 or Martin Luther High School (507) 436-5249.