(Photo via Ritisha Thakker/WCSN)
No. 17 Arizona State volleyball (22-4, 10-4 Pac-12) is coming off a weekend with mixed results in Southern California, as the Sun Devils swept UCLA in convincing fashion before being swept themselves against USC two days later.
The Sun Devils’ victory over the Bruins broke a 10-year losing drought on UCLA’s home floor while also marking the first time ASU has swept the season series with the Bruins since 1995. The win at Pauley Pavilion helped ASU reach a double-digit number of conference wins in a season for the first time since 1999.
The Sun Devils were not able to carry over the same magic into their bout with USC on Sunday, as the Trojans gave them a taste of their own medicine by recording a sweep.
After last weekend’s results, ASU moved down two spots in the AVCA Coaches Poll from No. 15 to No. 17. The team is now looking to bounce back this week and climb back up in the rankings, as Colorado (14-11, 6-8 Pac-12) will be in Tempe Thursday night with Utah (10-14, 5-9 Pac-12) to follow on Saturday.
Colorado has had ASU’s number as of late, winning seven of the last 10 matches while most recently rolling to a dominant 3-0 victory in Boulder over the Sun Devils in October.
The Buffaloes will come into the contest after facing similar results as ASU last weekend, as they went 1-1 on a road trip, beating Oregon State on Friday night before losing to Oregon on Sunday. Colorado is currently ranked seventh in the Pac-12 Conference standings, while ASU comes in tied for third with USC.
The key to the match for ASU, as it will look to turn around the recent trends against Colorado, will be the production it receives from three of its most impactful players — senior opposite hitter Marta Levinska, graduate setter Shannon Shields and graduate libero Mary Shroll.
Levinska is the focal point of the Sun Devils scoring attack, as she currently sits at second overall in the Pac-12 in kills, averaging 4.51 a set. However, Levinska needs Shields to play at a high level, as she is responsible for facilitating the offense. Shields is currently in the midst of arguably her best campaign in college to date, as she ranks 35th in the country with over 10 assists per set, which is fourth best in the conference.
Shroll is the leader on defense, who comes into the contest averaging almost four digs per set, which ranks third in the Pac. She is also ASU’s leader in aces, getting almost one to drop each match.
The Buffaloes are also one of the worst teams in the conference in receiving serves, with 102 reception errors committed on year.
Meanwhile, Utah is coming off one of its biggest victories of the season, stunning Oregon State in five sets after scoring four straight unanswered points in the fifth and final set to come from behind and win. The Utes had lost seven of their last eight conference matches coming into the matchup and are still one of three schools in the Pac-12 to have an overall losing record.
Back in October, the Sun Devils easily recorded the sweep against Utah in Salt Lake City. The Utes have struggled offensively this season, sitting second to last in the conference in hitting percentage, while the Sun Devils sit at third-best. Utah also does not have a single player that ranks inside the top-25 in the conference in kills, whereas ASU has been able to rely on Levinska when the rest of the team is struggling.
It will be a daunting task for both Rocky Mountain schools, as the Sun Devils are undefeated in Tempe this season. The Colorado match will start at 7 p.m. at Mullett Arena on Thursday, and the meeting with Utah will begin at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Desert Financial Arena.
