AUSTIN, Texas — Vanderbilt volleyball fell 3-0 (25-13, 25-18, 25-21) to No. 2 Texas Wednesday night at Gregory Gymnasium in its first conference match of the season.
Isabella Bareford and Kamryn Chaney led the Commodores’ offensive efforts with 27 assists and 10 kills, respectively. It is Chaney’s ninth match of the season with double-digit kills. Reese Animashaun and Jackie Moore each contributed six kills.
Both Vanderbilt (4-6, 0-1 SEC) and Texas (9-0, 1-0 SEC) recorded four blocks. Moore led the charge for Vandy with three total stops.
The Longhorns hit .446 as a team and saw two players record 10-plus kills. Torrey Stafford registered a team-high 14 kills, hitting at a .609 clip. Abby Vander Wal had 10 kills on the night, averaging .562 a hitting percentage. Last week’s AVCA National Player of the Week, Cari Spears, posted nine kills to go with five digs. Senior Emma Halter tallied 10 digs to help hold the Commodores to a.153 hitting percentage, the team’s second lowest of the season.
Texas wasted no time in the first set, charging to an early 8-2 lead. Vandy couldn’t catch up to the Longhorns, who won set 1, 25-13.
The Dores got things going much quicker in the second set, putting up five unanswered points to take a 5-3 lead. Texas, however, responded with a four-point run of its own to take a lead it would not give up. The final set score was closer than the first, but the Longhorns won, 25-18, and took a 2-0 lead in the match.
In set 3, Vandy held Texas to its lowest hitting percentage of the match, .346. Chaney tallied four of her 10 kills in the final set. The two squads traded points in close succession, but the Longhorns maintained their lead to close out the sweep, winning the set, 25-21.
The Commodores continue their road swing in Texas on Friday when they face 13th-ranked Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m. at Reed Arena.
