TEMPE – No. 7 Sun Devil Volleyball is back on the road this week, taking on No. 19 BYU on Thursday night in Provo, Utah before facing Utah in Salt Lake City on Saturday.
How to follow
Thursday’s match against the Cougars will start at 6 p.m. MDT/5 p.m. MST. For Saturday’s match against the Utes, that will begin at 1 p.m. MDT/12 p.m. MST. 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).
Sun Devil outlook
No. 7 Arizona State (14-2, 5-0 Big 12)
- The Sun Devils picked up ranked wins over then-No. 16 Baylor and No. 24 Colorado in Tempe last week, extending their winning streak to eight in a row. The winning streak is tied for the eighth-longest in team history. It is the third winning streak of eight or more under head coach JJ Van Niel in his third season (2023-25). The team also extended their conference winning streak to 21 in a row, the fourth-longest in the country.
- Arizona State improved to 4-2 against ranked teams this season. ASU has 12 wins against ranked teams under Van Niel; it had 12 in the previous seven full seasons (2016-22).
- Junior opposite Noemie Glover is this week’s Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week, her second of the season. With 36 total kills on a .422 clip, Glover powered the Sun Devils to two ranked wins. In the win over the Buffs, she led all players in kills with 21 on a .486 clip, her third match this season with 20 or more kills. Against the Bears, she also led all players in kills with 15. She has hit over .300 in all but two matches this season, including both this week, and has never dipped below .265. She’s reached double-digit kills in all but two matches, including the last five in a row.
- The Sun Devil defense is currently No. 15 in the nation in opponent hitting percentage (.159). ASU has held its opponents to a sub-.200 hitting percentage in all but four matches this season. Four times, Arizona State has kept its opponents under a .100 clip.
- Arizona State has eight matches this season with double-digit blocks. Leading the way has been graduate middle blocker Colby Neal, who is No. 18 in the nation and second in the conference for blocks per set with 1.42. She leads the team with 74 blocks on the year and surpassed 300 career blocks against Colorado. She has had six blocks in each of the last four matches and has nine total matches with at least five blocks.
- Sophomore Zoey Burgess’ father Chris Burgess is an assistant coach for the BYU men’s basketball team.
Opponent outlook
No. 19 BYU (15-2, 3-2 Big 12)
- The Cougars had just one match last week, hosting Houston and winning 3-1. At home, BYU is 9-1 this season.
- ASU has won three in a row against BYU, including two wins in Provo.
Utah (9-7, 1-4 Big 12)
- The Utes hosted the Houston Cougars last week, winning in five sets for their first conference win this season.
- Arizona State has won six in a row against Utah, including a sweep that will have been two weeks before this week’s matchup.