The women’s volleyball team hosted the first-ever Dig for the Cure match Saturday night, with the squad encouraging the crowd to make a donation for breast cancer research for each dig that a player made during the game.

According to associate head coach Denise Corlett, women’s volleyball teams nationwide held similar Dig for the Cure matches during October, but Cal and Stanford opted to wait until this past weekend when both schools played UCLA to show support for UCLA assistant coach Kim Jagd, who is currently undergoing breast cancer treatments. The drive collected over $4,000 in flat donations Saturday for the San Francisco chapter of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation, in addition to other pledged amounts.

“It was great to help out a colleague and support her fight against the disease,” Corlett said. “I’m also a UCLA grad, so the fact that we were dedicating the match to someone from UCLA made it all the more important for me. We are hoping to do Dig for the Cure on a yearly basis and bring in even more donations for breast cancer research.”

Sophomore outside hitter Cynthia Barboza was one of several players earning digs against the Bruins.

“We were very happy to be a part of the event,” said Barboza, who logged 15 kills for the Cardinal. “Kim is an amazing woman who has shown incredible determination battling cancer, and we were honored to be able to support her and the thousands of others going through the same thing.”

Dig for the Cure was started three years ago by Charlotte head coach Lisa Marston, whose mother had breast cancer. Proceeds from the matches are typically given to the Komen Foundation, which has raised more than $740 million to help fight breast cancer thanks to events like the Komen Race for the Cure.