College Volleyball Player From Palisades Notches 1,000th Kill

Senior outside hitter Drew Hargrave, of Pacific Palisades, became the 22nd player in history at Washington University in St. Louis to notch 1,000 career kills, tallying nine, as the No. 1-ranked Washington University volleyball team earned a 3-0 win (25-15, 25-17, 25-21) over Case Western Reserve University at the first University Athletic Association (UAA) Round Robin on Sunday.

In the second set, Hargrave hammered her ninth kill of the match, bringing her career total to 1,000 and giving the Bears a 16-10 lead in the set. She joins 21 former Washington U. players who have also reached the 1,000-kill milestone in their careers with the Bears.

Washington U. trailed for just one point in the match (0-1 in the first set), before cruising to the three-set victory over Case Western Reserve. A kill by senior setter Marilee Fisher gave the Bears a 10-4 lead in the first set. Washington U. maintained a four- to five-point cushion for the next several points before scoring the final five points to take the 25-15 win. In the second set, the Bears again jumped out to a 10-4 lead, and extended it to as many as eight points (18-10) on a kill by freshman outside hitter Nkiru Udenze. The Spartans closed to within four points (20-16), but Washington U. closed the set with a 5-1 run to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The Bears appeared to be rolling to the third-set win, taking a commanding 20-9 lead on a kill by sophomore right-side hitter Lindsay Juriga. Case Western Reserve rallied to make it a three-point deficit (24-21), but a kill by junior middle hitter Emily Tulloch gave the Bears the 25-21 win and ended the match.

Tulloch and Udenze led Washington U. with 11 kills each in the match, while Hargrave finished with nine. Fisher tallied a team-high 27 assists, and freshman setter Cassie Wang added 10. Senior libero Kelly Pang anchored the Bears’ defense with 20 digs, and freshman defensive specialist Anna Bryniarski recorded 12 digs.

Washington University (16-1, 3-0 UAA) returns to action on Wednesday, Oct. 3, at Webster University. The Bears and Gorloks are scheduled to square off at 7 p.m. in St. Louis.

Hargrave received accolades earlier this year with the team, and also attended school in Brentwood.