NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Commodores are less than seven months away from playing their first official volleyball match in more than 45 years. As anticipation for the first match has grown, so has the program’s roster and skills of its members.
This past fall, the Dores had a roster of 10 student-athletes who redshirted and trained while the rest of the collegiate volleyball world was competing. Now, Vanderbilt is on the same timeline as every other team in the country.
Feels SO good to be back 🏐🖤💪#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/pyx57Qs1oI
— Vanderbilt Volleyball (@VandyVolleyball) January 10, 2025
This spring, the team will dedicate itself to training and honing its skills before playing four exhibition matches.
“The obvious answer to the difference between last fall and this spring is we have enough bodies to play 6v6,” head coach Anders Nelson said. “So that’s the first thing–just having enough people. When one minor injury happens, you’re not wasting practice because of numbers.”
Since the fall, Vandy has welcomed five student-athletes to campus, including freshmen Kati Berezowitz, Kayla Dunlap, Taylor Porter and Maya Witherspoon and sophomore Kamryn Chaney.
“The second thing I’ve noticed is this group hits the ball hard,” Nelson continued. “The newcomers hit the ball hard. So, we’re seeing a lot of heavy swings right now in the gym that we were working toward last fall. We got some newcomers with some naturally good arms.”
Among the program’s new additions is Witherspoon, a 5-11 outside, who was named the 2024 Missouri Girls Volleyball Gatorade Player of the Year. Before coming to Nashville, the Wildwood, Missouri, native won three consecutive state championships with her high school team.
In its inaugural season, Vanderbilt volleyball will also have a local Nashvillian on its roster. Dunlap, a 6-4 middle, grew up right down the road from Vandy and attended Centennial High School.
“Kayla is a local product with massive potential,” Nelson said. “She is focused, determined and passionate on the court. She shows how great she wants to be. She also understands the significance of being the first Nashvillian on our roster and wants to be a role model for young athletes in the area.”
Berezowitz, 5-3, is a libero from Burlington, Wisconsin. In 2024, she was named her conference and county’s player of the year.
Porter, 5-10, is also a libero and hails from Cypress, Texas. She has experience on the national stage with her club team and was named all-region by the AVCA in 2024.
“The next thing is ball control,” Nelson stated. “We have some really experienced athletes who have won a lot at the club level. Having that, they bring a certain expectation while they train and compete that has been really fun to have in the gym.”
The semester’s newest Commodore, Chaney, is a 6-1 outside from Chicago. A transfer from Princeton, she was selected as the 2024 Ivy League Player of the Year and led the conference in points and kills per set and was ranked top 25 in the country in both categories.
Signed ⚓️⬇️
✍️ Kamryn Chaney
🏐 Outside#AnchorDown pic.twitter.com/ml8Zf91YPH— Vanderbilt Volleyball (@VandyVolleyball) January 4, 2025
“Kami has an elite approach and brings a lot of heat as an attacker,” Nelson said. “She wanted a school that was the right fit academically and a program that gave her the opportunity to prove herself at the highest level of collegiate volleyball.”
Vanderbilt volleyball will keep training this spring to prepare for its inaugural season and first match in Nashville on Aug. 29, 2025.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for everyone involved,” Nelson concluded. “These athletes had opportunities at some of the best programs in the country, and they still chose to be a part of this because of the uniqueness and because of what this university can offer. I don’t want that to get lost as we get closer to Match 1–the courage it took for everybody to be a part of this.”
