Following an upset win over Missouri that ended a seven-game losing streak, Vanderbilt Volleyball (6-16, 2-11) took on No. 19 Tennessee (17-5, 8-4) at home. The Commodores fell to their inner-state rival in straight sets.
Set 1
Isabella Bareford opened the scoring with a kill for the Commodores. Bareford and Mia Soerensen then committed two hitting errors to put the Volunteers on the board. Freshman Maya Witherspoon evened the score with a heat-seeking kill of her own, and Starr Williams responded with a surging kill through the back corner of Vanderbilt’s back line. Jackie Moore slammed a kill home to tie the set at 3 a-piece. A service error from Maggie Dostic ended a three-point scoring run for the Volunteers, but strong kills from Chelsea Sutton, Mackenzie Plante and Williams quickly gave Tennessee a 10-6 advantage. The Black and Gold fought back, winning four of the next five points to pull within one. A combination of kills from Hayden Kubik and hitting errors from the ‘Dores allowed Tennessee to take a 15-11 lead heading into the set’s media timeout.
The squads exchanged kills out of the break, keeping Tennessee’s advantage at four points. Nelson called Vanderbilt’s first timeout of the set following a hitting error from Witherspoon.
Caroline Kerr and Plante collected kills, and Reese Animashaun committed a hitting error to give the Volunteers their largest lead of the first set and force another Vanderbilt timeout. Bareford broke the huddle with a kill, but Plante answered with her fourth kill of the first set. A service error from Kerr and a kill from Soerensen gave the Commodores life, cutting Tennessee’s lead to 22-16 and forcing a timeout.
Consecutive kills from Kubik gave the Volunteers a set-point opportunity, and two points later, Klaudia Pawlik finished the job with her first kill of the evening.
Set 2
Williams began the second set with an emphatic kill. The Commodores’ front-line tandem of Soerensen and Moore responded with back-to-back kills, and Kubik countered with a kill of her own. The squads then traded points to tie the set at 5 a-piece, but a kill from Plante and consecutive attack errors from Witherspoon and Animashaun afforded the Volunteers an 8-5 lead. Nelson used Vanderbilt’s first timeout of the set to get his team back on track.
Witherspoon picked up her second and third kills of the outing to stop Tennessee’s momentum, and Moore followed suit with a kill to pull Vanderbilt within one. Bareford then served the match’s first ace to even the set at 9-9. Moore countered kills from Williams and Kubik with two kills of her own to extend the tie to 11-11. The rival teams exchanged points until errors from Kerr and Kubik gave Vanderbilt a 15-13 lead, and Volunteer coach Eve Watt called a timeout.
Kubik broke the timeout with her team-leading eighth kill, and an attack error from Sydney Conley evened the set at 15-15. Witherspoon and Moore put Vanderbilt back in the driver’s seat with back-to-back kills, but Pawlik secured a block to cut Vanderbilt’s lead to 17-16. The teams traded points until consecutive kills from Kubik and Plante tied the set at 21-21.
Following a Vanderbilt timeout, Kerr blocked Animashaun to put the Volunteers back on top, 22-21. A missed serve from Kubik tied the set yet again, but Sutton, Pawlik and Sydney Jaynes combined for a kill, block and ace to give Tennessee a 25-22 second-set victory.
Set 3
An emphatic kill from Witherspoon ended the Volunteers’ three-point scoring run to open the third set. Soerensen then doubled down with her seventh kill of the game. Tennessee quickly regained its momentum, using kills from Pawlik, Williams and Kubik to take an 8-4 lead. An attack error from Animashaun and subsequent kill from Sutton gave Tennessee a comfortable 10-5 cushion heading into a Vanderbilt timeout.
Kubik broke the timeout with Tennessee’s third ace of the night. The Commodores began to claw back, winning four of the next six points to cut their deficit to 9-13. Williams and Moore then traded powerful kills through the heart of the opposing defense. Tennessee proceeded to take control of the set, stringing together a three-point scoring run to take an 18-12 lead.
Kerr and Soerensen exchanged kills to break Vanderbilt’s timeout, and Kayla Dunlap collected a pair of kills to pull the Black and Gold within five, 15-20. Kills from Sutton, Plante and Pawlik extended Tennessee’s lead to 23-17, and an errant block from the Vanderbilt front line gave the Volunteers a match-point opportunity. A kill from Animashaun and ensuing ace from Moore gave the Commodores signs of life, but Sutton slammed home a kill to promptly end Vanderbilt’s comeback opportunity.
Vanderbilt Volleyball will head to Tuscaloosa to battle Alabama on Nov. 14 at 6:00 p.m. CDT.
