Oct. 15, 2009
BETHLEHEM, Pa. -- There, under the hot rays of a summer sun, young Brittany Dickinson would watch on as her mother graced the greens of outdoor volleyball tournaments. As a tot she would roll volleyballs around the grass meanwhile her mom, Val Dickinson, who had always loved volleyball and played for Principia College in St. Louis, Mo., was lighting a competitive fire under her teammates so they'd all come out as champions. Unknown to Brittany then, she would one day be leading teams with her love of the game and competitive fight just like her mother. Also unknown to her then, she would one day be the starting setter for the Mountain Hawks, the captain of the team, and she'd be doing it all in the memory of her mother.
Last year on Oct. 8, Valerie Dickinson passed away after years of battling cancer, and although Brittany wanted to be with her mother in those last days, Val pleaded with her daughter to go back and play Lafayette, the upcoming match.
"I had to play them for her," Brittany remembers.
She also remembers the last time she spoke with her mom on the phone after returning to school.
"She wasn't speaking much at that point," Brittany said. "But the last words she said to me that night was 'I love you. Beat Lafayette.'"
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