Sun Devils take on Utah schools in first Big 12 home weekend

(Photo: Sammy Nute/WCSN)

As the saying goes, “everything is bigger in Texas”. The No. 15 Arizona State women’s volleyball team proved that saying right, picking up a ranked sweep of No. 22 TCU, but fell to the truth of the saying by falling to No. 14 Baylor 3-1.

However, senior outside hitter Geli Cyr was named the Big 12 Offensive Player of the week as she picked up 35 kills in her home state across the two games. The win against TCU was the Sun Devils’ first ranked win of the season, and the fourth under second-year head coach JJ Van Niel. However, if everything is bigger in Texas, then there is truly no place like home.

The Sun Devils return to Tempe for their second weekend of Big 12 play, hosting Utah and No. 20 BYU as the campus prepares for the influx of people coming to Arizona for ASU’s Family Weekend 2024.

Wednesday’s matchup between the Devils and the Utes is a continuation of the longtime series between the two teams, as they were Pac-12 opponents before the move to the Big 12. Although the Utes lead in the all-time series, 18-9, Arizona State has won the past three matches, with the most recent coming toward the end of last season when the Devils swept Utah 3-0.

The match will be played at Mullett Arena, where the Arizona State hockey team plays. The volleyball team got the chance to play multiple games at Mullett last season, and is continuing to split games between the new arena and Desert Financial Arena this season.

For the Utes, they are led by sophomore outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo, who leads the team with 151 kills. Freshman setter Isabelle Marco has 270 assists and senior setter Grace Hammond has 236 assists. The Utes have a 12-1 record, with their lone loss coming against then No. 8 Purdue. They are 2-0 in conference play, picking up wins in their opening weekend against Texas Tech and Colorado.

Friday’s ranked matchup against BYU looks to be one of the biggest games the Devils will play this season, and will be a rematch from the second round of the 2023 NCAA Volleyball Championships.

The two teams have only matched up twice in history, with the first being a 3-1 loss at home for the Sun Devils in 1999, and the second being a sweep of the Cougars last season in Provo. The win last season knocked the Cougars out of the playoffs and allowed the Sun Devils to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1995.

Sophomore outside hitter Claire Little leads the Cougars with 184 kills, and freshman setter Alex Bower has been running her team with efficiency and already has 471 assists.

For the Sun Devils, graduate student setter Argentina Ung sits at 454 assists so far this season, putting her only 46 away from the 500 mark. Additionally, she has 2,967 career assists, only 33 away from 3,000. Graduate student libero Mary Shroll recently passed the mark for 1,500 career digs, and looks to build on her streak of 15 straight games with double-digit digs.

During the home series, BYU looks to avenge the season-ending loss from last season, and the Utes hope to flip the script on the recent losing streak against the Sun Devils, while Arizona State aims to start a new winning streak after the loss to Baylor. Wednesday’s game is at 6:30pm at Mullett Arena, and Friday’s game is at 5:00pm at Desert Financial Arena.