(Salt Lake City, UT) 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+.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
