Ask anyone in the NSCDS community and they will surely tell you it’s always a good day to be a Raider. Most will probably say it’s always a great day to be a Raider, as they burst with school pride while talking about the girls tennis team winning its second straight state championship or the field hockey team making its third straight Final Four appearance.
And then there are the days when it’s truly extraordinary to be a Raider.
Friday, October 5, was one of those special days— the day of the annual Dig Pink volleyball game to support cancer research. In the middle of a close third set of an even closer match, libero Kali Pfannerstill ’20 eyed the ball as it made its way to a Christian Liberty Academy outside hitter. Anticipating where the slam would land, Kali instinctively reached out both arms and made a diving dig, robbing her opponents of a near-certain point.
Still on the floor, she looked up to see the ball fall harmlessly inside the pink-colored sideline on the other side of the net. Point Raiders.
With equal amounts of relief and excitement, Kali let out a yell as she leapt to her feet and threw her arms in the air. The packed house followed. Wearing black t-shirts with pink lettering that read “Team Pink” on the front and "#Pfannerstrong" across the back, students in the crowd jumped and danced around. Shouts of “Kali” filled the rafters.
It was truly a special night.
“It meant everything to me,” Kali recalled. “I felt so supported and loved by everyone at North Shore. I felt like they were there to support my family and honor my mother. I’m so thankful for it.”
The specialness of the night was evident from the beginning. During a pregame ceremony, Kali’s mother, Jen Pfannerstill, former Upper School science teacher and scientist-in-residence, was honored. Jen, who last year roamed the sidelines as the head coach of the varsity team, lost her battle with cancer in July. Tears welled throughout Mac Gym as Kali’s uncle spoke to the full house about what an inspiration Jen was.
“When my uncle spoke, it was just so emotional, Kali recalled. “I was crying so much that my dad just hugged me the entire time.”
As the start of the match approached, Kali needed to somehow focus on just playing the game. First, she spoke to the referee about wearing a necklace—a gold bar with the word “faith” etched on it— during the match. The necklace was a gift from her mother. “You’re not supposed to wear jewelry,” Kali said, “but the referee said I could wear it. By wearing that necklace I believe that I was more at ease and I was able to think about volleyball.”
As much comfort as the necklace provided, what really resonated with Kali was the words her younger sister Meg ’24 offered her before the start of the match.
“She gave me a hug and she whispered in my ear,” Kali recalled. “She said, ‘You got this; you can do it for Mom, you can do it for me, for Haidyn, for Dad. Just go out and be you.’”
With those words, Kali began crying again, but she said they gave her the strength to focus on the match. “Meg and I are super close,” Kali said. “She really cared about how I was gonna make it through the night. Hearing her say those words just gave me a push to flip this switch and focus on playing the match.”
That support continued through the night. Once the final point was scored and the teams shook hands, fans poured onto the court to be with Kali and the team. “I remember after the game was over, our fans sort of spilled onto the court,” Kali recalled. “I got lots of hugs and support. Some people were like, ‘You’re so strong, I can’t believe you did that.’ Another said, ‘You played so well and your mom would be so proud.’
“Everyone was so positive, which is something that I think in that sad of a time, we needed to keep going. It’s something I’ll always remember,” Kali continued.
Despite all the love and support shown to Noel Pfannerstill and his daughters Kali, Meg and Haidyn, the night was so much more than that. Calling back to the School’s motto of “Live and Serve,” the event helped raise awareness in the fight against cancer as well as raise funds for cancer research.
“I think faculty, students and everyone are willing to go above and beyond what they’ve done in years past,” said Rebekah Kauffman, athletic assistant, physical education teacher and coach.
In the days leading up to the event, Upper School students held bake sales, sold t-shirts, made posters and decorated the School. The volleyball team coordinated their Dig Pink match with the field hockey team’s Play4TheCure game in order to extend the events a little longer.
“Historically, we’ve tried to be pretty unified about it, but this year we did a much better job,” said Head Field Hockey Coach Mullery Doar ’06, who is also the associate director of admission for grades 6-12 and a Middle School health teacher.
“They played their game on a Friday night, which was really fun, and then we played the following Monday. So that kind of kept it going a little bit longer.”
When it was all said and done, the teams raised over $2,500 for the Bright Pink organization, which focuses on prevention and early detection of breast and ovarian cancer. However, the impact was far bigger than just the money raised.
“It’s a service in that this is a disease that people need to be aware of,” said Athletic Director Patrick McHugh. “I think there are a lot of people in this community who are affected by it. Moms, sisters, or even men who’ve been affected by the disease. I think the good news is there’s been a much higher awareness from this movement.”
“I hope something can be fixed soon because I don’t want another family to lose a parent; I don’t want another young girl to feel the way I did,” Kali said. “It was important to be a part of this event. It really pushed me to want to make a difference because no one should have to go through this.”