TEMPE – Following a big win over No. 2 Texas to kick off the season, No. 12 Sun Devil Volleyball has two more ranked matchups awaiting them this weekend at the State Farm Volleyball Showcase in Sioux Falls, S.D., both on national TV.
How to follow
Friday’s match against the Golden Gophers will be at 6 p.m. MST/8 p.m. CDT on FOX. The match on Saturday with the Trojans will be at 12 p.m. MST/2 p.m. CDT on FS1. There will be live stats as well. Updates will be provided on social media on X (@SunDevilVB) and Instagram (@sundevilvolleyball).
Sun Devil outlook
No. 12 Arizona State (1-0)
- The Sun Devils opened the season with a bang by taking down the No. 2-ranked Texas Longhorns in four sets at the Jeep AVCA First Serve event in Milwaukee at Fiserv Forum. ASU held Texas to a .065 clip, the first time the Longhorns hit under .100 in a match since 2010.
- Sun Devil head coach JJ Van Niel improved to 4-0 in season openers. For the program, it is now 16 seasons in a row winning the first match of the year.
- Van Niel also improved to 4-3 against top-five teams in his head coaching career.
- Freshman setter Elle Mottola made a splash in her collegiate debut, earning the AVCA MVP of the Match. Running a 5-1, she had 31 assists, seven digs, four blocks and four kills in the winning effort.
- It was a balanced effort in the win as three Sun Devils had double-digit kills. Senior opposite Noemie Glover led all players with 13 kills (adding 10 digs for her third double-double). Pin hitters Una Vajagic and Maeva Schalk added 12 and 10 kills, respectively, in their Sun Devil debuts.
- The Sun Devils played in the State Farm Volleyball Showcase last year as well, making a splash by beating No. 2 Penn State.
- Both matches will be the season opener for ASU’s opponents.
Opponent outlook
No. 14 Minnesota (0-0)
- The Golden Gophers went 24-10 in 2025 (12-8 in the Big Ten), advancing to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
- Arizona State is 1-1 against Minnesota, with the last meeting coming all the way back in 2000 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The Sun Devils dropped that one in four.
No. 20 USC (0-0)
- The Trojans went 25-7 last season, earning a 15-5 mark in the Big Ten. They also made it to the NCAA Regional Semifinals.
- A former Pac-12 foe, USC leads the all-time series 74-15-1. Back in 2023 for the last season in the conference for both teams, ASU and USC split the season series, each squad winning at home.
- Van Niel was a former assistant and associate head coach for the Trojans for five seasons, spending three seasons with current USC head coach Brad Keller.
Follow us
Sun Devil Volleyball updates can be found by following @SunDevilVB on X, @sundevilvolleyball on Instagram, Sun Devil Volleyball on Facebook and on sundevils.com.