Vanderbilt volleyball had its first home match in 45 years on Aug. 29, 2025. The match was held on Wyatt Lawn, and Vanderbilt alumna and country singer Julie Cole performed the national anthem for an audience of over 3,400. Vanderbilt won 3-1 against Belmont University, marking Vanderbilt’s first victory since 1980 when the volleyball program was discontinued.
Director of Operations for the volleyball program Kimberly Williams explained that volleyball is becoming the most popular sport for girls in Tennessee and nationwide, which was just one reason why Vanderbilt decided to reignite its volleyball program.
“[The timing of the game] just felt like the right moment. There’s a resurgence in popularity for not just women’s sports, but volleyball in general. We’re starting to see a lot more attendance numbers [for] both in-person attendance at matches, and viewership and participation,” Williams said. “With the way that the sport is growing in popularity, and the rise of women’s sports like that, now is the time to capitalize. We’re here, and we’re bringing it back.”
Volleyball head coach Anders Nelson described his excitement for Vanderbilt’s return to competitive volleyball and his vision for the Class of 2029 in a press release.
“Match 1 will be a celebration for our program, university and the volleyball community in Nashville as we return to competition after a 45-year hiatus,” Nelson said. “We’re proud to host this event on one of the most iconic spots on campus, Wyatt Lawn. We hope to create memories our first years, the Class of 2029, will carry with them through their time at Vanderbilt and beyond.”
Lauren Rickert, assistant director of facilities and event management, described the collaborative nature of the planning process, with outreach across marketing, communications, fan engagement, donors, sponsorships and ticketing. On the campus side of things, she and her team coordinated with campus facilities, grounds, VPS and risk management.
Williams also elaborated on the group’s partnership with the Owen School of Business.
“We also partnered with the Owen School of Business to utilize some of their [graduate student] cohorts when we were talking about, ‘how do we really capitalize on this threshold moment for our program and make a splash?’ [Owen] had a couple of cohorts and students — Bethany and Kennedy — who specifically put together a marketing package,” Williams said.
Rickert described the challenges of hosting the event on Wyatt lawn, including creating a level surface on the steep ground for the court and ensuring accessibility through ADA seating and restrooms. Additionally, Williams elaborated on the logistics the team considered while organizing the event.
“We had to truly build it from scratch, so a lot of [the planning process] was talking with some of those experienced people on campus who have hosted outdoor events like Rites of Spring to say, ‘how did you handle crowd flow, concessions [and] all of those things for outdoor events for students when it wasn’t traditionally set up for you?’” Williams said.
Williams also explained the reasoning behind hosting the game on Wyatt Lawn.
“We were kind of nudged into the direction of hosting it on Wyatt lawn [because it’s] in the middle of the first-year housing block of campus. That’s the student group we really want to connect with, knowing that we’re both starting our journey here at Vanderbilt at the same time,” Williams said.
Williams described her vision for the future of volleyball at Vanderbilt.
“We have really lofty goals for our program, just within year one. And so, if we’re trying to be a force to be reckoned with, not only within the SEC but with volleyball nationally and in [the] NCAA, we want to be a team that can win a national championship,” Williams said. “That is not something that we just say lightly. We’re here to compete, and we’re here to take this program all the way to the top.”
Senior Isabella Bareford, a setter for the team, described that the game being hosted in home court was meaningful to her.
“This is my last season of college volleyball and to be able to have the opportunity to be a part of an event like this was incredible,” Bareford said. “I have never experienced anything like this, and I will never experience anything like this again.”
Additionally, the organizers worked alongside Dean of the Ingram Commons Melissa Gresalfi and her staff to promote student body engagement with events and athletics, including mandating freshmen attendance at the game.
First-year Daniel Farmer described his experience at the game.
“It was super cool to be outside, [and it was] very nice weather. I loved how everybody was into [the game],” Farmer said. “It was just a super enjoyable atmosphere with all the fellow students cheering on our team. So just to see everybody get really into it was really fun.”
