Vanderbilt Volleyball (4-5, 0-0), fresh off a win against Western Kentucky, took on UC Irvine (4-7, 0-0) at home on Friday evening. The Commodores served, set and spiked their way to a convincing four-set win, looking especially threatening on offense.
“Sixty-five kills on offense is a pretty crazy night. That’s how many kills you need to win any match,” head coach Anders Nelson said after the match.
Set 1
UC Irvine kicked things off with an out-of-bounds serve, but Sydnee Rowe responded with a kill to get the Anteaters on the scoreboard. The Commodores went on a small run, with Bella Bareford serving consecutive aces to produce a 6-1 lead. An emphatic kill by Jackie Moore pushed the lead to 8-2. Irvine clawed back, though, defending and serving well to pull within three. Reese Animashaun and Kamryn Chaney buried back-to-back kills into the Anteaters’ backcourt to pull the momentum back in the Black and Gold’s favor. A shifty tap-over by Bareford gave Vanderbilt a 13-8 lead. Two more kills courtesy of Chaney sent the Black and Gold into a media timeout with a 15-11 lead.
Chaney missed her serve out of the timeout, but Animashaun picked her teammate up with a surging kill through the heart of the Anteaters’ defense. Lillian Lansing answered with a kill of her own, and Irvine called its first timeout down 13-17.
Another Lansing kill pulled Irvine within three. Service and attack errors by Animashaun and Chaney gave the Anteaters more life, but two kills by Kayla Dunlap kept the lead at three. Irvine called its second timeout of the set down 16-19.
Lois Hansen delivered back-to-back kills to give the Anteaters their smallest deficit of the set, 18-19. Nelson called a timeout to reorient his team.
Hansen buried another two kills to give UC Irvine its first lead of the set, but an attack error by Kendra Duffey stopped the bleeding for the Black and Gold. An extended point featuring a diving save by Hailee Mack ended with a heat-seeking kill from Chaney, and the Commodores evened things up at 21-apiece. The squads exchanged points, and Animashaun hammered a kill home to give Vanderbilt a 23-22 lead. Both teams exchanged untimely service errors, giving Vanderbilt a set-point. Kinney’s ensuing serve flew just deep of the Anteaters’ back line, tying the set again. Animashaun’s crafty tap-over put the Commodores back on top, and Chaney cemented Vanderbilt’s first set, 26-24.
Set 2
Hansen and Dunlap traded kills to open the second set. Sloppy play from both ends produced six errors in nine points, ultimately giving Vanderbilt a 7-5 lead. Chaney nailed an ace, but Lansing and Angelina Dellutri strung together multiple kills to pull the Anteaters within one. The Black and Gold then rained spikes into the Anteaters’ court with kills by Animashaun, Bareford and Chaney, pushing Vanderbilt’s lead to 15-11 as a media timeout arrived.
Consecutive errant touches by Chaney gave UC Irvine two points out of the timeout, but Mia Soerensen got the ‘Dores back on track with a skillful kill down the sideline. Moore, a forceful presence at the net, delivered a stalwart block and two leaping kills to keep Vanderbilt’s lead at four. Soerensen sent another kill home to force a timeout with the Black and Gold up 20-15.
The teams exchanged two quick points before Irvine called another timeout. The Anteaters made noticeable adjustments, winning three straight points to pull within two, 19-21, and force a Vanderbilt timeout.
A kill from Dunlap and an ace from Animashaun offset kills by Lansing and Rowe, giving the ‘Dores a 23-21 lead. Chaney buried a kill of her own, putting the ball in Animashaun’s hands to end the set on her serve. The sophomore was unable to convert, but Dunlap responded on the ensuing point with a vigorous kill into the Anteaters’ backcourt. Vanderbilt took a 2-0 set lead.
Set 3
Dunlap started the third set right where she left off, slamming a spike past UC Irvine’s defense. The squads went back-and-forth, trading blocks and kills to tie the set at 3-apiece. Abby Pekrul, Rowe and Lansing then wove together three consecutive kills to pull the Anteaters ahead, but Emma Napoleon’s missed serve abruptly ended Irvine’s momentum. Animashaun drove an ace home, and an errant attack by Lansing tied the set once again. Campbell Jensen’s service error was corrected to an ace after a lengthy review, giving Irvine an 11-9 lead.
The Commodores did not lose focus after the extended review, as Moore motored a kill just inside of the Anteaters’ right sideline. Pekrul and Nicole Feliciano responded, blocking and spiking their way to a 14-11 Irvine lead. Back-to-back service and attack errors by Isabella Romero narrowed the Commodores’ deficit to one, but Maya Witherspoon’s missed serve sent the ‘Dores into the media timeout down 13-15.
Animashaun kicked the Black and Gold’s post-timeout scoring off with a kill, which was offset by a missed serve from Soerensen. Back-to-back points from Kendra Duffey pushed UC Irvine’s lead to 18-15 and created a Vanderbilt timeout. Dunlap left the huddle with aggression, pinning a spike deep past the Anteaters’ back line. Chaney doubled down with two electric kills of her own, tying things up at 19-19. Irvine took its first timeout of the set.
Missed touches by Moore, Soerensen and Animashaun handed three consecutive points to UC Irvine, yielding a Vanderbilt timeout. Chaney re-oriented her team, rifling a kill to the hardwood to stop the bleeding. Animashaun followed suit with a block, temporarily tying the set at 22-22; further review reversed the call, giving the Anteaters a 23-21 lead. An attack error by Animashaun on the ensuing point gave Irvine a set-point opportunity, but the Black and Gold continued to fight. A kill by Animashaun, an ace from Witherspoon and a block from Soerensen tied things up yet again, 24-24. A Lansing kill and poor communication between Soerensen and Chaney on the ensuing set point ultimately ended the Commodores’ advance, giving the Anteaters their first set of the evening.
Set 4
Rowe and Chaney swapped kills to begin the fourth set. The towering frontcourt duo of Moore and Chaney then combined for a block and kill to give Vanderbilt a 4-2 lead. After a flurry of one and two-point exchanges between the two evenly matched teams, consecutive errors from Irvine players and a pinpoint kill from Animashaun gave Vanderbilt an 8-5 advantage. Chaney then delivered a blazing kill across Memorial, sending Vanderbilt into a UC Irvine timeout up 11-7.
The Anteaters regained focus out of the break, as Duffey, Rowe and Hansen delivered kills to cut the deficit to 10-12. Consecutive attack errors from Chaney tied the set at 12-12, but Dunlap and Moore combined for two kills to put the lead back in the Black and Gold’s hands. Well-placed kills from Moore and Soerensen gave the ‘Dores a 16-13 lead into a timeout.
Moore continued to build momentum for her team, hammering home an assist from Bareford to extend Vanderbilt’s lead to four. Chaney offset a kill with a missed serve, but Soerensen avenged the miss with a kill to the back-left corner of the Irvine backcourt. Errors by Kinney and Mack kept Irvine in the set, 18-20.
Dunlap broke the timeout with a missile to the hardwood. Irvine responded with two more points, but the Commodores did not look back. A kill from Dunlap and three straight kills from Chaney ended the set – and match – with a Vanderbilt win.
Vanderbilt will seek its first SEC win when it travels to Austin to battle Texas on September 24th at 8:00 p.m. CDT.
