PENSACOLA, Fla. - The No. 16 Argonauts (20-6, 12-0 GSC) will kick off this week and conclude their home regular season schedule with a match against Mississippi College (9-13, 7-5 GSC) Tuesday night at 6 pm at UWF Field House, which will mark the program's 16th annual Pack It Pink match. The team then travels to Montgomery, Ala., for a 5 pm game at Auburn Montgomery on Friday night at the AUM Athletics Complex (19-8, 8-4 GSC). 
 
Pack it Pink is a cause near and dear to coach Melissa Wolter, as she is a breast cancer survivor herself. The program began the tradition as part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month in 2007, just over a year after she was diagnosed and six months after she received her final treatments. She has been cancer free since then, dedicating herself to providing support to others in the Pensacola area fighting the disease. 
 
The match is sponsored by Baptist Medical Oncology Center and the Pensacola Breast Cancer Association. Admission to the match is free, as donations to these foundations dedicated to the fight against breast cancer will be accepted in lieu of tickets. The team is also raising funds for the organizations through an online auction that can be accessed here. The online auction will close and transition to a silent auction in the Field House lobby at 4 pm on Tuesday, which will continue through the match and conclude 10 minutes after the final point. At that point, all items will go home with the final bidder.
 
Survivors and their families as well as family members of those who have lost a relative to cancer are invited to a reception from 4:30-6 in the Argonaut Athletic Club. Refreshments will be provided.  
 
Continuing a beloved tradition, the team and cheerleaders will participate in a pregame ceremonial walk that will honor breast cancer survivors and those who have lost their lives to the disease. Anyone who wishes to participate in the walk in honor of someone who lost their battle to cancer or as a survivor should meet by the home bench five minutes before the start of the game. 

Additionally, UWF will continue its tradition of honoring a survivor by naming them the team's guest coach for the match. Meet this year's guest coach here.

About Mississippi College: The Choctaws have two of the conference's top four leaders in kills with Lydia Paulette, the leader with 342 and 3.80 per set, and Caroline Chastang, who is fourth with 265 and 2.94. The two are also first and fifth in total points. Chastang is tenth in aces with 35 and 0.39 per frame, and Ali Wiggins is ninth in assists with 461 and 5.12. 
 
Mississippi College is coached by Shawna Laurendine, now in her sixth season. West Florida has largely dominated the series 17-4, though MC has given it fits of late. The last GSC loss was to the Choctaws last season in a five-setter in Clinton, Miss. The Argos went on to exact revenge by sweeping them at home last season in October before another five-set thriller in Clinton just over a month ago. The hosts pushed UWF to the brink with a 2-0 lead before the Blue and Green stormed back to win the final three frames. Before 2022, the last time the Choctaws defeated the Argos was 2002, when it won three of the first four meetings between the schools.
 
About Auburn Montgomery: AUM sits in third place in the conference behind Alabama Huntsville (14-8, 10-2 GSC) and the Argonauts. Alessia Cappai is sixth in the league in kills with 227 and 2.84 per set. Myllena Torquetti and Ruth Sconocchini are seventh and ninth in hitting percentage with .297 and .280, respectively. Two of the conference's top five in aces are Warhawks, as Kaleigh Fitzgerald is third with 48 and 0.52 per set and Cappai is fifth with 38 and 0.48. Fitzgerald also has the second-highest league mark for digs with 381 and 4.10 per set. Kyla Ffrench and Torquetti are also seventh and ninth in blocks.
 
Led by fifth-year head coach Flavia Siqueira, the Warhawks are in their seventh year as a program, which began when they joined the ranks of the GSC in 2017 upon making the jump from the NAIA to NCAA Division II. Coach Wolter's program is a perfect 11-0 against AUM. The Argos swept the Pensacola matchup between the sides last month.   
 
Please visit GoArgos.com or follow the program at @UWFVolleyball on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to follow the action.