Life in the transfer portal moves fast.
On Friday, Dec. 13, sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Chaney entered the transfer portal with her name officially registered on Sunday, Dec. 15.
By Sunday’s end, Chaney had committed to the Vanderbilt Commodores via an announcement on her Instagram page.
“I think it’s very important for me to be at a school where academics and athletics are prioritized equally,” Chaney told The Daily Princetonian. “Nashville is such a beautiful place, and I honestly loved it.”
Chaney joins a program that has not played at the Division I level since the 1979–80 academic year. In April of 2022, Vanderbilt announced that women’s volleyball was set to make a return at the D1 level as the university’s 17th varsity sport starting in the 2025–26 season.
Despite not competing, the Vanderbilt roster had 10 athletes this season who have redshirted and trained during the 2024–25 academic year.
The Commodores will compete in the Southeastern Conference (SEC), which is seen as one of the most competitive conferences in D1 volleyball. The SEC had seven teams ranked in the top 35 in RPI rankings.
“I think playing in the SEC is going to be something that’s very exciting,” Chaney said. “It’s really nice that I’m going to be going up against such great competition.”
Vanderbilt has also brought on Anders Nelson to lead the reintroduced program. Nelson comes from the University of Kentucky, where he was the associate head coach for a squad that won the 2020 national championship and six consecutive SEC championships.
“I have a lot of trust in [Nelson] and his passion for volleyball is just so inspirational,” Chaney said.
“I think everybody on the staff has either won a national championship or played in one, so I kind of trusted their abilities as a coaching staff to really develop me and put together a team that’s really going to be successful,” Chaney continued.
Chaney was the Ivy League Player of the Year in 2024 after a record-breaking season that saw her lead the conference in points-per-set, kills, and service aces. Her 421 kills were ninth all-time in the Tiger record book.
On Sept. 21 in a match against High Point University, Chaney recorded a staggering 34 kills, becoming the first Ivy League player since Oct. 11, 2014, to have 34 kills in a match.
Later in the year, Chaney recorded 25 kills and 13 digs with zero errors to upset the Yale Bulldogs in the regular season. The win for the Orange and Black snapped Yale’s 30-match home winning streak, which was the second longest in Division I volleyball.
The Tigers went on to win a share of the Ivy League regular season title before falling to the Bulldogs in the Ivy League tournament championship game.
“We thank Kamryn for her tremendous contributions to Princeton women’s volleyball during her time here and wish her well as she begins her next chapter,” Head Coach Sabrina King wrote to the ‘Prince.’
The Bulldogs qualified for the NCAA Championships but lost in the first round. The loss marked 14 straight years that the automatic qualifier from the Ivy League has lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The last team from the Ancient Eight to win a first-round match was Penn in 2009, showing the league’s weakness on the national level.
The transfer undoubtedly leaves a hole in a Tiger squad that had high hopes for the 2025 season. The three seniors on the team this year were all non-starters and King’s squad was set to return a plethora of talent.
“I love my teammates and I had a good conversation with them before I entered the transfer portal, and they were very supportive,” Chaney said.
This included Chaney, junior middle blocker Lucia Scalamandre, first-year middle blocker Jackie Onyechi, and sophomore setter Sydney Draper. The three were all second team All-Ivy selections this season.
“We wouldn’t have been nearly as successful this past season without [Chaney], and I think I speak for everyone when I say that we are incredibly proud and happy for her,” Scalamandre told the ‘Prince.’
“It is going to be so hard to lose Kami, but we have a deep bench that I am excited to see step into her position,” Scalamandre continued.
Before she entered the portal, Chaney had a conversation with her teammates in the locker room.
“They were so happy for me,” Chaney recalled. “I honestly wasn’t expecting that response, because I’m leaving, and these are my closest friends on campus and for them to kind of show me that appreciation and that support made me feel amazing.”
“I know that I’m going to stay in touch with these girls for the rest of my life, which is great too because I know there’s not going to be any bad blood,” Chaney continued.
When Chaney entered the portal, she was originally unsure how much attention she was going to receive.
“In the Ivy League, we don’t get that much exposure,” Chaney explained.
However, to her surprise, her phone was “blowing up” on Sunday, with Vanderbilt, Michigan State, Kentucky, Marquette, Dayton, and Creighton all reaching out to the Chicago native.
It didn’t take long for Chaney to commit to Vanderbilt’s program, where she hopes she can compete for a national championship right away.
“I think we’ll be able to shock the world a little bit,” Chaney said. “It won’t be just like your average start up program. I think we’ll make some strides.”
“With Coach Anders and his amazing staff, the goal is definitely to get to the NCAA and hopefully play for a championship.” she continued.
Chaney will move to Nashville on Jan. 3 and start classes in Nashville on Jan. 6.
“It’s going to be nice to adjust a little bit early and not just have everything come at me in the fall.”
Hayk Yengibaryan is an associate Sports editor and News contributor for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
Read More
New Humanities Initiative aims to foster interdisciplinary collaboration
Devon RudolphThe University announced a new Humanities Initiative, which plans for a more robust system of collaboration both within the humanities departments and through other disciplines on campus. A faculty steering group will meet for the first time on Dec. 20.
The University announced a new Humanities Initiative, which plans for a more robust system of collaboration both within the humanities departments and through other disciplines on campus. A faculty steering group will meet for the first time on Dec. 20.
‘Universities have to be bold’: Director of ACLU-NJ urges Princeton community to take action post-election
Abby LeibowitzAt a public event at the Princeton Public Library on Dec. 15, Lynda Dodd, a public policy lecturer, and Amol Singh, director of the ACLU of New Jersey, discussed New Jersey’s potential to implement safeguards protecting vulnerable communities from policies that may emerge under a potential second Trump administration. The event also served as the “relaunch” meeting for Indivisible Princeton.
At a public event at the Princeton Public Library on Dec. 15, Lynda Dodd, a public policy lecturer, and Amol Singh, director of the ACLU of New Jersey, discussed New Jersey’s potential to implement safeguards protecting vulnerable communities from policies that may emerge under a potential second Trump administration. The event also served as the “relaunch” meeting for Indivisible Princeton.
‘Innovation is alive and well at Princeton’: University researchers translate findings to start-ups
Coco GongThe 'Prince' sat down with University researchers-turned-entrepreneurs to discuss their experience translating their academic work into startups.
The 'Prince' sat down with University researchers-turned-entrepreneurs to discuss their experience translating their academic work into startups.
