
Accomplishing 1,000 kills in a college volleyball career — meaning, a player initiated an attack that is unreturnable by the opposing team — can be a rare sighting. But when it does happen, it’s celebrated widely because the high number of spikes achieved in just four years is considered exemplary.
Audrey Green, a Westminster College senior majoring in accounting, reached 1,000 kills this season as an outside hitter for the school’s volleyball team.
Reaching this milestone has long been a goal for Green. After watching her former teammate, Amara Spere, meet the 1,000-threshold during Green’s first season, she quickly made it her goal to do the same.
“Audrey commented on the announcing of Amara’s achievement on a social media post along the lines of, ‘Look for this post about me in my senior year,’” said Assistant Coach Stephanie Jones-Morin in an email to The Forum.
Willing to sacrifice time and resources to the pursuit of happiness, Green said she knew nothing was going to get in her way of achieving this goal.
Inspired by her mom, Green started to play volleyball in the 5th grade. At the time, basketball was also a commitment she dedicated herself to until her first year of high school. However, she knew she had to make a decision of what sport she wanted to pursue more.
The obvious choice for her? Volleyball.
“Ever since I started playing, I’ve found so much happiness and fulfillment from playing volleyball,” Green said. “It has created so many special relationships and has taught me countless lessons, for life on and off the court.”
Despite difficulties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, causing irregularities in team practices and added safety precautions, Green said her team stayed committed to the process.
“Luckily our team stayed motivated and held each other accountable throughout those months by sharing daily workouts photos,” Green said.
This motivation helped spur Green toward reaching the 1,000-kill milestone, coaches said.
“We have worked with Audrey on her leadership over the last two years, and we have seen great improvement,” said Karrin Moore, head coach of the volleyball team. “She really cares about her teammates and their relationships on and off the court.”
Green’s accomplishment is the first for Moore’s two-year tenure at Westminster, but not in her coaching career.
“I have coached three other players that hit the 1,000 kill mark in my 11 seasons as a head coach,” Moore said. “It is an amazing accomplishment for any player to achieve.”
Moving forward, Green said reaching the 1,000 mark isn’t the end. Now, she hopes to continue inspiring others to reach their goals, on and off the court.
“She will come into the huddle between plays on her knees or jumping up and down in celebration of a teammate’s success,” Jones-Morin said. “She recognizes others’ strengths and helps them leverage those abilities to make the team better.”