Ooltewah's Morgan Sullivan, Audra Morgan and Kennisha Cook have been chosen as participants for the 2009 Volley For The Cure High School Volleyball Showcase.

The Showcase will start at 5 p.m. on Friday at Lee University's Walker Arena in Cleveland.

Players from Ooltewah, Bradley Central, Cleveland and Walker Valley will be involved in the Showcase.

Representing Bradley Central will be Leigh Ann Brewer, Laura Higgins, Elizabeth Triplett and Emily Hilliard. Players from Cleveland will be Jamie Harvey, Morgan Isom and Gabby Earby. The Walker Valley participants will be Hannah Campbell,
Jessica Harper, Victoria Hester, Aubrey Reagan and Samantha Spain.

This will be the third Volley for the Cure. It was started locally by coach Andrea Hudson of Lee University in 2007.

The idea was to raise awareness for breast cancer and to raise money for a local charity, The Mary Ellen Locher Foundation. The foundation provides scholarships to young people whose parent is a survivor of breast cancer or has lost their life to breast cancer.

From the beginning the goal was to not only get Lee University involved, but to also get the entire Cleveland community involved.

The teams were selected by the Lee University coaches and their respective high school coach. The girls were divided into two teams -- The Blush Babes and the Pink Pounders.

The teams this year will be coached by Ooltewah High School coach and Breast Cancer Survivor - Elaine Piegen -- and Bradley Central coach and Lee University Alumnus Christy McElhaney.

The referees for this event will be Walker Valley coach Judy Pruett and Cleveland High School coach Trish Flowers, whose mother is a breast cancer survivor.

There will be a mixture of girls from each school in the fun game.

At 4 p.m., the silent auction begins in the lobby of the gymnasium. Some items for auction this year are a signed football by University of Alabama football coach Nick Saban, an autographed picture of Peyton Manning, and much more.

Following the showcase is a "Pink Party" with lots of fun stuff -- hair painting, face painting, tattoos, pink cotton candy, and more.

"PACK THE STANDS WITH PINK" at 5:45. Each year the biggest fundraiser is the selling of the pink t-shirts. This year's theme was "Paint the Town Pink" with t-shirts being sold for $5.00 and all monies raised going to the cause. Already more than 4,000 shirts have been sold at local high schools, including Ooltewah and various businesses in the Cleveland area.

The high schools also have a competition to see which school can sell the most with Walker Valley winning in 2008.

At 7 p.m. in the MAIN EVENT, Lee University Lady Flames play host to The University of Alabama at Huntsville Lady Chargers. Both teams will be warming up with pink volleyballs and decked out in pink uniforms.

The referees will also be wearing pink and using pink whistles. The line judges will be in pink with their pink flags. The Lee University cheerleaders along with Ocoee Middle School cheerleaders will also be on hand for the event.

Between games two and three, special entertainment and the awarding of the Mary Ellen Locher Volley for the Cure scholarship will be presented.

In three years, this event has become a big part of the Cleveland community and Lee University Homecoming.

For the past two years, a check for $10,000 has been presented to the Mary Ellen Locher Foundation.

(E-mail Stan Crawley at wscrawley@earthlink.net)