BERKELEY – Senior outside hitter Christina Higgins became the 16^th player in Cal history to reach 1,000 career kills and the Cal volleyball team pushed No. 4 Washington to the brink on Friday night before falling 18-25, 25-13, 22-25, 25-21, 15-7 at Haas Pavilion.

Higgins had 17 kills and junior opposite hitter Lara Vukasovic added 11 kills and three blocks for the Bears (8-4, 0-2 Pac-12), who played their second top-5 opponent in the past four days.

Sophomore libero Maddy Kerr had 23 digs and junior middle blocker Lillian Schonewise added 10 kills and five blocks. Freshman outside hitter Ashten Smith-Gooden also had 10 kills.

The Bears (8-4, 0-2) erased a 5-1 deficit in the first set, eventually tying it at 11-11. With the score tied 17-17, Cal scored five points in a row to take control.

After dropping the second set, the Bears came out strong in the third set and maintained a comfortable cushion throughout. They ultimately held a 20-12 advantage, and after establishing set point at 24-19, the Huskies (13-0, 2-0) scored three in a row to cut it to 24-22 and force a Cal timeout. But Higgins came up with a kill to close it out and give the Bears a 2 sets to 1 lead.

Cal jumped out to a 6-3 lead in the fourth set, but Washington scored six of the next seven points to lead 9-7. The Bears were still as close as 22-20, but the Huskies notched two in a row and ultimately closed out the set.

Washington raced out to a 5-1 lead in the fifth set and cruised to the victory.

Higgins, a second team AVCA All-American last season, now has 1,008 kills during her career.

The Bears will return to the Haas Pavilion court next Friday against Oregon State at 7 p.m.