St. Henry's volleyball team dropped the first set, then won three straight to beat Holy Cross 3-1 on Wednesday, Sept. 23, in its annual Playing For A Purpose fundraiser.

The match, billed as "Digging for Diabetes," raised money for T1D Warriors, a nonprofit that supports people living with Type 1 diabetes. A pre-match ceremony recognized T1D students and families before the first serve at St. Henry District High School in Erlanger.

Holy Cross took the opening set 25-22, according to St. Henry Athletics. The Crusaders responded with a dominant second set, winning 25-16. St. Henry kept rolling in the third, 25-14, then closed out the match 25-21 in the fourth.

All three levels swept the night. The freshman and JV squads each beat Holy Cross 2-0 in earlier matches.

The fundraiser's Givebutter page showed $325 raised toward a $1,000 goal from 22 supporters as of Thursday, Sept. 24. A "Chuck-A-Duck" activity offered $5 tickets as an additional fundraiser during the event.

T1D Warriors was founded by the Gumz family after their son Austin was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Aaron Gumz wakes up at 3 a.m. every morning to check Austin's glucose levels. The organization raises money for awareness, access to care, and research toward a cure.

Coach Maureen Kaiser had identified the Sept. 23 match as this year's charity event earlier in the season. After St. Henry's come-from-behind 3-2 win over Notre Dame on Sept. 2, which snapped the Pandas' 59-match winning streak against Ninth Region opponents, Kaiser told the NKY Tribune that proceeds would go to T1D Warriors.

"We had the momentum and that's what volleyball is, a game of momentum," Kaiser said after that Sept. 2 Notre Dame win, describing a rally that followed a dig by defensive sub Maria Klare.

The Crusaders have bounced back repeatedly this fall. They lost to Beechwood in the Ninth Region All "A" championship on Aug. 27, then upset No. 2 Notre Dame five days later. Against Holy Cross, they trailed again after one set and responded the same way.

St. Henry opened the season ranked No. 13 in the Kentucky Volleyball Coaches Association (KVCA) preseason poll and climbed to No. 6 by early September. The junior-heavy roster features libero Kenadi Sieg, a KVCA second-team all-state pick last season, setter Madelyn Keipert and hitter and blocker Violet Main.

Keipert earned a spot on the Ninth Region All "A" all-tournament team on Aug. 27 after posting 43 assists, 13 digs, eight kills and three aces across the tournament.

St. Henry's next match had not been announced as of Thursday, Sept. 24. Donations to the Digging for Diabetes campaign remain open at givebutter.com/digging-for-diabetes.