STARKVILLE, Miss. — Vanderbilt volleyball middle Jackie Moore recorded a career-high 30 kills in the Commdores’ five-set win over Mississippi State at the Newell-Grissom Building on Sunday.
Vanderbilt’s 3-2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-23, 18-25, 15-10) win is the program’s first-ever SEC road win. During the 1979 season, the Dores earned a 3-2 win over Georgia but did not play a true away match.
The Commodores (7-17, 3-12 SEC) were led offensively by Moore’s 30 kills, which are the most by an SEC middle and is the No. 4-ranked performance by any SEC player this season. She also recorded a .510 hitting efficiency and four blocks. Mia Soerensen registered 10 kills, hitting at a .292 clip. For the fourth time this season, Isabella Bareford earned a double-double with 44 assists and 12 digs. She was one of three Dores with double-digit digs. Reese Animashaun registered 14, while Elli Kinney recorded a team-high 17 digs. Kayla Dunlap led Vandy with six of the team’s 10 total blocks.
Three Bulldogs (16-9, 6-9 SEC) recorded 10-plus kills, led by Maria Bernard Aguilar Toranza with 23. Lindsey Mangelson and Gha’Naye Whitfield-Moss tallied respective totals of 16 and 14 kills. Calyey Hanson dished out 54 assists and contributed nine digs. Mangelson and McKenna Yates each posted 14 digs. Mississippi State totaled 12 team blocks, led by Whitfield-Moss with four.
The opening set was back-and-forth from start to finish as both teams hit above .400. In the end, Mississippi State edged out Vanderbilt to win the first set 25-23.
Set 2 started like the first until Vanderbilt went on several short scoring runs to earn a 21-13 advantage. Mississippi State went on a six-point run to hold Vandy at 23 points. The Commodores, however, held onto their lead to win the set, 25-22.
In the third set, Vandy battled back from a 12-6 deficit to earn a 25-23 win. Moore recorded 10 kills and hit .833.
The Bulldogs were able to limit the Vanderbilt offense to a .083 hitting efficiency in set 4, its lowest of the match, as Mississippi State registered a 25-18 win to send the match to a fifth set.
Moore recorded five kills in the final set where the Commodores hit .375 and sided out at 70 percent. Vanderbilt ended the match with a 15-10 win in set 5.
The Commodores and Bulldogs will rematch on Friday in the opening round of the Allstate SEC Volleyball Tournament, which will be held at Enmarket Arena in Savannah, Georgia. First serve is set for 5 p.m. and will air on the SEC Network.
