GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Vanderbilt volleyball freshman Maya Witherspoon registered a season-best five service aces, with zero errors on 14 serves, Sunday afternoon at Stephen C. O’Connell Center.
The Commodores (5-10, 1-5 SEC) fell 3-1 (25-19, 16-25, 25-17, 25-18) to RV Florida (9-6, 4-2 SEC), as the Gators held the Dores to a hitting percentage of just .106 and outblocked Vandy 13 to 4.
Jackie Moore was the sole Commodore to record double-digit kills with 11. Kamryn Chaney and Mia Soerensen each contributed nine kills. Chaney also tallied 11 digs, one of three Dores with 10-plus digs. Elli Kinney and Hailee Mack dug 10 balls each. Setter Isabella Bareford dished out 38 assists to go with five digs and a kill.
Florida was paced by Jaela Augusta’s seven blocks and Jordyn Byrd’s 13 kills. The Gators hit .252 as a team, powered by setter Alexis Stucky’s 33 assists. Florida had two players record four blocks, Milica Vidacic and Alec Roth. Libero Lily Hayes led the Gator defense with 16 digs.
In the opening set, Florida took off running to a seven-point lead, the score, 15-8, Gators. Vanderbilt responded with six unanswered to pull the Commodores within one, but Florida held onto its lead to take the first set, 25-19.
The Commodores answered with a dominant win on set 2, hitting .310 and limiting Florida to one block. Witherspoon recorded four of her five aces in the second set, going back-to-back on two separate occasions. The set score was 25-16, Vandy.
Florida regained its footing in the third and fourth sets, which it won by respective scores of 25-17 and 25-18. Despite a few short scoring runs from the Dores, Vanderbilt couldn’t overpower the Gators’ offensive and defensive efforts. Florida recorded 7.5 blocks and only one attacking error between the final two sets.
Vanderbilt will return to Nashville for a four-match homestand, beginning on Friday when the Commodores face LSU for the team’s “Dig Pink Match” at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gymnasium.
