Hargrave's 15 Kills Lead No. 1 Volleyball to 3-0 Win Over Webster University
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St. Louis, Mo., October 26, 2010 – Behind 15 kills from sophomore outside hitter Drew Hargrave the No. 1 Washington University in St. Louis volleyball team defeated Webster University 3-0 (25-11, 25-13, 25-19) at Grant Gymnasium on Tuesday night in St. Louis, Mo.
The Bears were playing at full strength for the first time since Oct. 3, and they came out strong against the Gorloks, hitting .519 as a team in the opening set. Three different players recorded at least one kill as Washington U. quickly built a 13-4 lead in the opening frame, and Hargrave led the way with three scores during that stretch.
Freshman outside hitter Meghan Byrne and junior middle hitter Lauren Budde each finished the first set with four kills apiece, while sophomore setter Marilee Fisher had three kills, 12 assists and a pair of digs.
Webster kept pace with the Bears early in the second set, but that all changed when the Bears took eight-straight points to turn a 7-6 deficit into a 14-7 lead. Once again Hargrave was the big hitter, tallying five kills in the second set, while Budde and seniors Marya Kaminski and Jennifer Varriano each added three kills and Fisher had 14 assists and eight digs.
The final set featured several shifts in momentum, but the Bears closed with a 6-0 run to seal the win. Webster grabbed a fast 4-0 lead, but a strong serving run by freshman Lisa Woerlein enabled Washington U. to score six unanswered points and resume control of the match.
The Gorloks came all the way back to tie the score at 19-19, but they never regained the lead and did not score again after forcing the late tie.
Hargrave hit .414 in the win, and Budde also reached double figures in kills with 10 to go along with nine digs and a solo block. Playing for the first time since early October, sophomore libero Kelly Pang made a tremendous impact defensively, corralling a team-high 21 digs, 11 of which came in the second set alone.
Washington U. (24-2) concludes its regular season schedule this weekend when it will host the Washington University Invitational at the Washington University Field House in St. Louis, Mo. The Bears face Culver-Stockton College on Friday, Oct. 29 at 5:15 p.m., and Dominican University at 7:30 p.m. Prior to the match with Dominican, Washington University will honor its three seniors, Marya Kaminski, Jennifer Varriano and Ali Hoffman.