Side-Out Foundation

ARLINGTON, Texas - With October serving as Breast Cancer Awareness Month, UT Arlington teamed up with the Side-Out Foundation to raise money to help make a significant and identifiable difference in the lives of breast cancer patients and their families.

The Mavericks raised $5,191.22 for the Side-Out Foundation in the month of October, surpassing their goal of $3,000.

"It's a really big deal because we have some of our teammates that have family members affected by it," senior MB Ashley Bennett said. "It's always a really good thing to help out with this kind of cause."

UTA's fundraising efforts were highlighted by the Mavericks Dig Pink Match on Oct. 8 where the team swept Texas State in front of a College Park Center record volleyball crowd of 1,251.

"This is just another one of those small steps that we can do for our female athletes to set them on the course of giving back in life," UT Arlington coach Diane Seymour said. "Anytime you can get involved in any type of community service you are reaching them on a different level of being a young adult and being a prosperous person in the world. We talk about it quite often with these guys that we ask a lot of their time, but we are preparing them for life after volleyball."

The Side-Out Foundation was established in 2004 to unite volleyball players and coaches and to have them work toward the common goal of furthering breast cancer awareness, education and patient services. Side-Out supports teams nationwide in their volleyball tournament, clinics and other fundraising efforts. They contribute the funds to organizations that serve breast cancer patients, whether it be in the form of research, medical services or patient support.