SALT LAKE CITY – No. 8 Sun Devil Volleyball started the road trip off on the right foot by beating Utah in four sets (25-27, 25-19, 25-21, 25-21) in the Huntsman Center on Thursday night.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (16-3, 7-1 Big 12) earned its eighth win in a row in the series against Utah (12-7, 4-4 Big 12) while improving its overall win streak to seven.
- For the third match in a row, senior opposite Noemie Glover notched 20-plus kills, earning 23 in the win. It was her fourth match this season eclipsing the 20-kill mark, eighth time in her career. This was her 13th match in a row with double-digit kills. Additionally, she got her third double-double of the year by adding 11 digs.
- A second double-double on the squad tonight came from junior outside hitter Una Vajagić with 16 kills and 10 digs. This was her third double-double in a row to improve to a team-best ninth of the season, all in the last 11 matches. She also had three aces
- The Sun Devils had 13 blocks in the win, the ninth time this season with double-digit blocks. It was the second match in a row reaching double figures, six in the last seven. Leading the team was senior middle blocker Ella Lomigora with seven.
- Sophomore outside hitter Maéva Schalk nearly got her first double-double with nine kills and 13 digs. The dig total is a new career high for her. She also earned a new personal best in blocks with five.
- The two setters combined for 54 assists. Senior Isabella Costantini had 24 and seven digs, while freshman Elle Mottola dished out 20 assists, two kills and two blocks.
- Junior libero Faith Frame had 11 digs tonight, her third-straight match in double figures, 12th time this season.
Set one: Utah 27, ASU 25
The opening set was close to start, neither team able to go on a run. A kill from Vajagić tied it up at 6-6. Utah got a lead of three before an error and an ace from freshman Paige Lehman put ASU within one, 12-11. Neither team was still able to create much separation, but the Utes slowly got their lead back up to three, 20-17, forcing a timeout from the Sun Devils. Glover came out of the break with a vengeance, putting away two-straight kills on big swings to make it 20-19. ASU put together a 4-0 run behind the serve of Lehman and two blocks to take the 23-22 lead. However, aided by some Arizona State errors, Utah won it in extra points, 27-25. There were nine ties and three lead changes in this set.
Set two: ASU 25, Utah 19
Arizona State took control early in the second frame, going up 4-1 after an ace from Vajagić and a couple of blocks from Lomigora. A huge 9-1 run for the Sun Devils boosted their lead up to 17-9. That run included a few kills from Glover and another ace from Vajagić. The Utes responded, scoring four in a row to close the gap to 22-18 and force both Sun Devil timeouts in that run. A smart shot from Vajagić ended the run, then a kill from Glover swiped the ball off the block for the kill to put ASU at set point, 24-19. An error from the home team won the set for Arizona State, 25-19.
Set three: ASU 25, Utah 21
It was back and forth to begin the third set until a few kills from Schalk helped ASU on a 5-0 run with Lehman serving to go up 10-5. An ace from junior middle blocker Zoey Burgess pushed the lead to 13-10, but Utah closed the gap to one at 13-12. The Sun Devils scored four-straight points with two blocks from Lomigora to push it to 17-12. A run of three with Lomigora involved in all three points made it a seven-point advantage, 20-13. The Utes were able to close the gap to 20-16 after scoring three in a row, but a kill from Glover got the sideout. Utah put pressure on again late, holding off three-straight set points, but Glover’s 20th kill won the set, 25-21.
Set four: ASU 25, Utah 21
The teams kept it tight until junior Piper Rama served Arizona State on a 7-0 run to go up 13-7. The run saw three errors from the home team, as well as two aces from Rama. A run of three from the Utes cut the lead to two until Vajagić’s kill got the sideout and put the Sun Devils up 15-12 at the media break. Utah took the lead at 18-17 after another run of three, but ASU responded with four-straight points to go back up 21-18. The teams traded points towards the end of the set, but back-to-back kills from Vajagić won the set for the Sun Devils, 25-21.
Up next
The road trip continues for Arizona State with a matchup at No. 11 BYU on Saturday. The match will be at 5:30 p.m. MST/6:30 p.m. MDT on ESPN+.
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.