NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Vanderbilt volleyball suffered a 3-1 (20-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-15) loss to Illinois Sunday evening in the third match of the Sprouts’ Farmers Market Broadway Block Party at Bridgestone Arena.
The Commodores (1-2) were outblocked 11-3 by the Fighting Illini (1-1) who hit .290 as a team while holding Vandy to a hitting percentage of .174.
Vanderbilt saw three players reach double-digit kills. Kamryn Chaney registered a team-high 14 kills and a kill percentage of .368. Jackie Moore wasn’t far behind, tallying 13 kills and hitting at a .345 clip. With 10 kills and nine digs, Reese Animashaun was just shy of her second double-double of the season.
For the third straight match, Hailee Mack recorded double-figure digs with 16. Elli Kinney contributed a season-high 11 digs.
Two Illinois student-athletes reached 10-plus kills, Taylor de Boer with 17 and Alyssa Aguayo with 12. Kayla Burbage posted a team-high six blocks, while Vivian Campbell had 12 digs.
Set 1 started back and forth, but the Dores went on a 10-2 run to pull ahead, stretching it out to an 8-point lead. At a 20-12 disadvantage, Illinois cut into Vandy’s lead, holding the Dores at set point until a kill by Moore sealed the 25-20 set win. In the first set, Moore recorded six kills off six attempts, and the team registered a .452 kill percentage.
The momentum shifted in the second set, in which the Fighting Illini hit .444 as a team. Vandy went on a 4-point run to try to lessen Illinois’ 17-8 lead, but the Illini were able to pull away and win the set 25-17. The third set was neck-and-neck until the very end with no team leading by more than five.
Illinois pulled away in the fourth set winning the set and match by a score of 25-15.
Vanderbilt will look to bounce back when the team heads down the road to Lipscomb on Thursday. First serve will be at 6 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.
