Homestand Starts With Colorado, Utah This Weekend

TEMPE – No. 17 Sun Devil Volleyball is back home for the first of two-straight weekends in Tempe, hosting Colorado on Thursday in the final Mullett Arena match of the season before taking on Utah in Desert Financial Arena on Saturday.

Fan Information
Thursday's match against Colorado is Wizard Night, where fans are encouraged to grab their wands and head to the last match of the year in Mullett for what is sure to be a magical night. It will begin at 7 p.m. MST. On Saturday, the annual Salute to Service game is against Utah at 6:30 p.m. MST in Desert Financial Arena. That match will be a doubleheader, with Sun Devil Men's Basketball playing in that arena for their home opener at 1:30 p.m. MST.

The fan guide can be found here. Tickets can be purchased here for Thursday and here for Saturday.

How to Follow
For fans not in attendance, they can view both matches on the ASU Live Stream. Live scoring will be available for both matches. For more updates, follow along on Twitter (@SunDevilVB) and on Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball).

Sun Devil Outlook
Arizona State (22-4, 10-4 Pac-12)

• The Sun Devils split the matches in Los Angeles last weekend. ASU swept UCLA on Friday, the first win in Pauley Pavilion since 2013 and completing the first season sweep over the Bruins since 1995. It also was the second time ever Arizona State swept both matches against UCLA in the same season, first since 1982. On Sunday, ASU fell in straight sets at USC, a team that entered the ranking at No. 25 this week. 
• ASU reached double-digit conference wins for the first time since 1999, now at 10-4 on the season. The most ASU has ever had is 13 (1993, 1986). This is the 10th season with double-digit conference wins. The current win total of 22 is the most wins this century for the Sun Devils and is tied for the fifth-most all-time. This is the 11th 20-win season in ASU history, first since 2014. The 14-0 start to the season was the third-best start to a season in program history. 
• The Sun Devils got their 16th sweep of the season against UCLA, the most in a single season in program history. The previous high was 15 in 2013. 
• Senior opposite Marta Levinska continues to be a dominant force for Arizona State. She led the team in both matches over the weekend, including a 21-kill outing at USC. That was her fifth time this season with 20 or more kills, 13th in her career. Against UCLA, she moved into seventh place in the ASU record book for career kills. In the nation, she is in the top 20 in four categories: kills (18th), kills per set (12th), points (14th) and points per set (ninth). 
• The Sun Devils moved to No. 17 in the latest AVCA Coaches Poll. They are ranked for the seventh week in a row. JJ Van Niel is just the second first-year head coach at ASU to have a ranked team, the other being Debbie Brown in 1983. Her team was ranked for 11 weeks and got as high as No. 13. In the RPI rankings, the Sun Devils are No. 20. They are the fourth-highest Pac-12 team, behind Stanford, Oregon and Washington State.
• Graduate setter Shannon Shields has been pacing the offense all season, having her most productive season of her career to go out with a bang. She is No. 35 in the nation for assists per set (10.33), which is fourth in the Pac-12. Earlier this season, she surpassed 2,000 career assists and is nearing 1,000 on the season (909 currently). She has seven double-doubles this year and seven matches with 40-plus assists, including two with 50 or more. 
• Another graduate student-athlete having the strongest of her career is libero Mary Shroll. She leads the team in digs and also in aces. Against UCLA, she matched her career high for aces with four, which also got her to 100 career aces. 

Opponent Outlook
Colorado (14-11, 6-8 Pac-12)

• Last weekend, the Buffalos split their games against Oregon and Oregon State, collecting a 3-2 win against Oregon State and a 3-1 loss against Oregon. 
• When the Sun Devils and Buff battled against one another earlier this season on October 22 at Colorado, the Buffalos won in straight sets. ASU and Colorado last met in Tempe in 2021 with the Sun Devils coming away victorious.

Utah (10-14, 5-9 Pac-12)

• In their last weekend series, the Utes also split their series against Oregon and Oregon State. Utah went home with a 3-2 win over Oregon State and a 3-0 loss against Oregon. 
• The last matchup between Arizona State and Utah was on October 20 at Utah where the Sun Devils swept the Utes. That was the second-straight win for ASU over Utah, also winning their second matchup last season in Tempe.