LINCOLN, Neb. — In its first match in 45 years, Vanderbilt volleyball fell 3-2 (19-25, 25-18, 24-26, 25-20, 15-4) to No. 14 Kansas at the AVCA First Serve Showcase in Pinnacle Bank Arena Saturday afternoon.
The Commodores had three players record double-digit kills, led by outside Reese Animashaun with a game-high 18. Animashaun also added 11 digs, five assists and four blocks for the Dores. Middle Jackie Moore registered a career-high 17 kills, hitting.323, and outside Kamryn Chaney notched 11 terminations. Setter Isabella Bareford posted 46 assists.
Vandy’s defense was paced by libero Hailee Mack who had 28 of the team’s 56 total digs.
Reese Ptacek and Grace Nelson powered Kansas’ offense with 15 and 13 kill totals. The Jayhawks outblocked the Dores 15.5 to 10. Alisha Aiono totaled a team-high eight bock assists.
In set 1, the Dores struck first off a kill by Moore, building a 10-5 lead over the Jayhawks. Middles Maddy Bowser and Moore accounted for nine of the Dores’ 16 kills in the first set, which they won by a score of 25-19.
Coming out of the set break, the Jayhawks went on an 8-3 run and led by as many as 12 points. Kansas posted eight team blocks compared to Vanderbilt’s two in the set. Back-to-back kills by Animashaun sparked an 8-2 Commodore run, holding Kansas at set point for four points before ultimately falling 25-18.
Set 3, which Vanderbilt won, 26-24, featured 11 ties and five lead changes. No team led by more than four points. Bareford tallied 14 assists, and Mack recorded nine digs in the third set.
Kansas’ offense registered a match-high .351 hitting percentage in set 4, which propelled the Jayhawks to the 25-20 set win. Kansas closed out the five-set victory with a 15-4 win in the fifth set.
Up next, Vanderbilt returns home to host Belmont for Match 1 Friday at 7 p.m. on SEC Network.
