No. 13 Texas Volleyball Falls in Five Sets at No. 21 Vanderbilt, 3-2
Texas led two sets to one in Nashville and stood two points from the match in the fifth. Vanderbilt closed instead — a kill for match point and a walk-off ace, upheld after a Texas challenge, for a 15-12 fifth set and the Commodores' second straight win over a ranked opponent.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Texas volleyball's road run ended at the net on Sunday afternoon. No. 21 Vanderbilt beat the No. 13 Longhorns 3-2 (25-15, 19-25, 17-25, 25-21, 15-12) at Memorial Gymnasium, rallying from two sets down in the match's second half and closing the fifth set with a service ace on match point, Vanderbilt Athletics reported.
Texas took control in the middle of the match. After dropping the opener 25-15, the Longhorns built a 16-7 lead in the second set behind a strong serving stretch and closed it 25-19, then used their presence at the net and two successful challenges to take the third 25-17. Vanderbilt answered in the fourth, breaking a tie with a 3-0 run and holding off a Texas push to win 25-21 and force the fifth.
The deciding set traded points to 4-4 before Vanderbilt's block edged the Commodores ahead. Texas pulled within 13-12 late, but a Vanderbilt kill brought up match point and Carly Hendrickson followed with a walk-off ace. Texas challenged the final point; the call stood, and the Senior Day crowd had its finish. Vanderbilt hit .386 with 66 kills, led by Reese Animashaun's 18 and Maya Witherspoon's 17, and improved to 19-3 and 10-3 in the SEC with its second consecutive win over a ranked opponent.
The loss closes Texas's regular-season road schedule. The Longhorns arrived in Nashville 13-7 overall and 9-3 in league play after Friday night's sweep at Missouri — their fourth straight 3-0 win — which makes Sunday the first defeat of the closing road swing and a reminder of the SEC's depth at the top: Texas beat the league's middle all month, and the road finale belonged to the other ranked team in the gym.
