Alanni Young Becomes Blackburn's All-Time Kills Leader

Blackburn College Senior Alanni Young closed out her career as the all-time leader in kills in volleyball program history.  Young, from Glasford, Illinois, accumulated 617 kills in just three seasons of playing.  Young led Blackburn in kills in both the 2016 and 2018 seasons.  What makes this record even more impressive is that she sat out the 2017 to concentrate on academics.  "I was trying to graduate early and was taking 21 hours that semester so I had to put more effort into my school work," said Young.  "Playing again this season was kind of bittersweet because the season flew by and now I regret not playing my junior year," added Young.

The past two seasons have seen an improvement in the program through victories and moving up in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings.  Young along with four other seniors were a major part of this improvement.  "It meant a lot that the five senior were able to leave a mark on the program and that our fans saw this improvement," said Young.  

Three times in her career Young tallied 18 kills in a match and accumulated double digit kills in 23 matches over her three-year career.  Young and her four senior teammates closed out their career with a 3-1 victory over Lincoln College.  "That last match was probably the best match we played together, so that was special to go out with a win," said Young.  Appropriately Young finished her career with her 617th kill the immediate point before subbing out of the match due to the substitution rotation.  "It was really special to finish my career on a kill as my last play on the court."

Young was also a member of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference All-Academic Team for the fall of 2018.  Young will graduate this December and return home while looking for employment and beginning work on her master's degree in Health Care Administration in Maryville University's online program.