TEMPE – No. 11 Sun Devil Volleyball is back in Tempe for a pair of Big 12 contests this week, starting with a battle for the top spot in the conference with No. 8 Kansas in Mullett Arena on Wednesday before hosting Kansas State on Friday in Desert Financial Arena.
How to Follow
Arizona State will begin their homestand with Big 12 leader Kansas. The Sun Devils and Jayhawks will battle it out at Mullett Arena on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. MST. This will be ASU's seventh matchup against a ranked team this season. Mullett Arena will play host to 90s night, which includes a Sun Devil Volleyball wristband giveaway in addition to students receiving t-shirts from the 942 crew.
On Friday night, ASU will welcome Kansas State to Desert Financial Arena with a 7:00 p.m. MST start in the Salute to Service game. This will be the Sun Devils' first game at Desert Financial Arena since October 9.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats as well. Updates will be provided on social media on X (@SunDevilVB) and Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball). For more fan information, check out the 2024 fan guide.
Sun Devil Outlook
No. 11 Arizona State (22-2, 10-1 Big 12)
Opponent Outlook
No. 8 Kansas (20-1, 11-0 Big 12)
How to Follow
Arizona State will begin their homestand with Big 12 leader Kansas. The Sun Devils and Jayhawks will battle it out at Mullett Arena on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m. MST. This will be ASU's seventh matchup against a ranked team this season. Mullett Arena will play host to 90s night, which includes a Sun Devil Volleyball wristband giveaway in addition to students receiving t-shirts from the 942 crew.
On Friday night, ASU will welcome Kansas State to Desert Financial Arena with a 7:00 p.m. MST start in the Salute to Service game. This will be the Sun Devils' first game at Desert Financial Arena since October 9.
Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+, with live stats as well. Updates will be provided on social media on X (@SunDevilVB) and Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball). For more fan information, check out the 2024 fan guide.
Sun Devil Outlook
No. 11 Arizona State (22-2, 10-1 Big 12)
- The Sun Devils got the season sweep over both schools in Utah this season after going 2-0 last week. ASU beat No. 20 BYU in five sets (ASU's first match to go to five sets this year) and No. 22 Utah in a sweep.
- ASU improved to 4-2 against ranked teams this year. Additionally, ASU got its 15th sweep of the year, tied for the second most in a single season in program history. Arizona State also has won 10 in a row, which is the fourth-longest win streak in team history and the second double-digit win streak under Van Niel (14 in a row in 2023). The Sun Devils finished October with a perfect 9-0.
- JJ Van Niel got his 50th win as a head coach at Utah, against the school where he got his collegiate coaching start. He is 50-9 in his two seasons at Arizona State, the fastest Sun Devil head coach to 50 in team history.
- The Sun Devils got their 10th conference win at Utah, the 11th time in program history earning double-digit conference wins. It is the second year in a row doing so, just the second time this century.
- In the AVCA Coaches Poll, Arizona State has jumped two spots to No. 11, which is their highest ranking since 2015. The Sun Devils have been ranked in 21 consecutive polls, 17 of which have been in the top 20. No. 11 is the highest ranking under the tenure of Head Coach JJ Van Niel.
- Senior outside hitter Geli Cyr is going out with a bang in her final season. She leads the team in kills with 293 and has had nine double-doubles this year, all nine coming in the last 11 games. For digs, she's second on the team with 227. For career milestones, she is 19 kills from 1,000 career kills and 77 digs from 1,000 career digs. She would be the 21st Sun Devil to reach 1,000 kills, 22nd to reach 1,000 digs, and the 12th in program history to get both.
- The conference leader in digs and digs per set is graduate libero Mary Shroll with 407 and 5.02, respectively. She has been the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week three times this year, which is an ASU record for career defensive weekly awards. She has notched double-digit digs in all but one match this season.
Opponent Outlook
No. 8 Kansas (20-1, 11-0 Big 12)
- The Jayhawks took care of business with a home and road split this past week. They picked up a road win over Texas Tech (3-1) and returned home to defeat West Virginia (3-0).
- Kansas sits atop the Big 12 with a flawless 11-0 record in conference play. Its lone loss of the season came at the hands of No. 9 Creighton, losing at home on September 21st in straight sets. The Jayhawks have two ranked wins, including one over then-No. 6 Purdue.
- Kansas logged a 24-6 record in 2023, with their season coming to an end with a second round NCAA tournament loss to Penn State
- The all-time series between Kansas and ASU is dead locked at 1-1, with the most recent matchup dating back to 2012.
- Kansas State picked up wins over Iowa State and West Virginia this past week, with both victories coming in five sets. The Wildcats will head to Tucson to take on Arizona prior to their Friday night matchup against the Sun Devils
- K-State posted a 16-11 record in the 2023 campaign, going 10-8 in the Big 12.
- This will be the second matchup all-time between Kansas State and Arizona State. It's the first contest since 2008, where KSU picked up the lone win.