CHS volleyball gears up for ‘Aces for Alaina’ fundraiser

The Canton High girls volleyball team has been rolling right along this fall with seven match victories in eight tries — including five in a row — to lead the Hockomock Davenport Division as they approach the halfway point of the season.

Alaina Goodwin (David Uzvalok Photography)

But when the Bulldogs take the court next Thursday against Oliver Ames, the primary focus will be on a cause that is much bigger than volleyball.

As a show of support for CHS senior Alaina Goodwin, who continues to recover from a rare spinal stroke suffered in August, the team has organized a special fundraiser called “Ace it for Alaina.”

“We will sell baked goods, snacks, t-shirts and have a 50/50 raffle with all proceeds going to the Alaina Goodwin Support Fund,” said head coach Pat Cawley. “Please come and support Alaina and wear purple, her favorite color!”

According to the GoFundMe page established by her aunt, Goodwin has made “remarkable progress” at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital but will still require intensive physical therapy in an outpatient setting in order to regain function in her legs. The fund, which has raised more than $22,000 to date, will help to pay for the therapy treatments not covered by insurance as well as medical and other associated expenses.

“Alaina is strong and amazing and her beauty radiates from the inside out,” states Annie Goodwin Acerra on the GoFundMe page. “She has dreams of becoming a nurse some day.”

Cawley said that Goodwin is close friends with some of the girls on the team, and they are eager to do their part to support her recovery and to help her achieve her goal of graduating on time with the rest of the CHS Class of 2017.

They are hoping for a big turnout for Thursday’s match, which gets underway at 5 p.m. in the CHS gymnasium. Those who are unable to attend but would like to donate to the fund can do so by visiting gofundme.com.

As for recent on-court results, the lady Bulldogs ran their shutout streak to five in a row with straight-set wins over Foxboro and Stoughton last week.

In the Foxboro win (25-12, 25-21, 25-12), nine different players registered kills for Canton, led by Erika Lum with nine. Other top performers included Nicole Poole (21 assists), Maria Mackie, and Julia Panico.

Thursday’s home match against the rival Black Knights proved to be an even tougher test, but the Bulldogs came through when it counted, winning 25-22, 25-23 and 25-16.

Hannah Jerrier paced the offense with eight kills, and Casey Shea had a big night at the net with five kills and five blocks. Poole had another stellar performance with 21 assists and 15 digs; Emma Murphy added three kills and five blocks; and Mackie was a steady force on defense.

“[Stoughton’s] preseason goal was to beat us, and they gave us all we could handle,” said Cawley after the match. “I’m proud of the team for working together and staying strong and composed in set two, when we were down 22-16. Winning that set gave us the momentum and we were able to win set three handily.”

This week, the Bulldogs (7-1) were due to face Franklin at home on Wednesday and travel to Taunton tomorrow night. The girls will then host the “Aces for Alaina” match next Thursday, followed by a road date with defending Division 2 state champion Notre Dame Academy on Friday, October 14.

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Posted by Jay Turner on Oct 7 2016. Filed under High School, Sports. Both comments and pings are currently closed.