SAVANNAH, Ga. — Vanderbilt volleyball middle Jackie Moore registered her fourth 20-kill performance of the season as 15th-seeded Vandy upset seventh-seeded Georgia in four sets on Saturday night in the second round of the Allstate SEC Volleyball Tournament.
The Commodores (9-17, 3-12 SEC) defeated the Bulldogs (16-10, 8-7 SEC) 3-1 (25-20, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18) to advance to the quarterfinals where they will face Texas A&M, who earned the No. 2 seed.
Vanderbilt put together another complete offensive performance recording 61 kills with a .274 hitting percentage. Moore led the Dores with 20 kills, making zero errors on 30 swings for a .667 hitting efficiency. She also led the team in blocking with seven of the team’s 11 total blocks. For the second match in a row, Soerensen recorded double-digit kills with 12. Isabella Bareford tallied a team-high 34 assists and seven digs. Taryn DeWese earned her first career double-double, registering 14 assists and 11 digs. She was one of three Commodores with 10-plus digs. Elli Kinney recorded a team-high 17 digs, while Reese Animashaun added 13.
The Vandy defense limited Georgia to a hitting efficiency of .183. Two Bulldogs recorded double-digit kills. Bianna Muoneke led the way with 16 kills, followed by MK Patten with 10. Setters Kaya Tyson and Chloe Elarton combined for 41 assists with 19 and 13, respectively. Defensively, Adriana Rhoda, Kendal Kemp and Tori Harper each posted five blocks. Makenna Lim registered 15 digs for the Dawgs.
After trading scores through the first five points of set 1, Vanderbilt began to pull away. The Commodores’ lead grew as the set progressed, at one point earning a 21-14 advantage. Georgia went on a 4-1 run to pull within four and force a Vandy timeout. Coming out of the timeout, a kill from Maya Witherspoon allowed Vandy to side out. Despite a pair of kills from the Bulldogs, the Dores were able to hang on to their lead to earn a 25-20 win in set 1.
Vandy held Georgia to a -.034 hitting efficiency in the second set, which the Dores won by a score of 25-20. The Commodores carried their first-set momentum into the second and did not trail the entire set.
The Georgia offense responded in set 3, charging out to a 10-5 lead. At several points in the set, the Commodores cut the Bulldogs’ lead to one point, but Georgia maintained its advantage to win the set, 25-21.
Vanderbilt quickly rebounded in the fourth set, hitting .432 as a team and siding out at 73 percent, to close out the match with a 25-18 set win.
The Commodores and Aggies will face off in the Allstate SEC Volleyball Tournament quarterfinals Sunday at Enmarket Arena. First serve is set for 4 p.m. and will air on SEC Network.
