Utah Volleyball Loses Tough Match to No. 7 Arizona State

Saturday, October 18

Salt Lake City, UT

1:00 P.M.

University of Utah

9-9,1-6Big 12

Arizona State

16-2,7-0Big 12

Arizona St.

Utah

Photo by: University of Utah Athletics

Utah Volleyball Loses Tough Match to No. 7 Arizona State

10/18/2025 3:53 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Utes and Sun Devils went back-and-forth in a close four-set match

SALT LAKE CITY – Utah Volleyball hosted the No.7 ranked Arizona State Sun Devils Saturday afternoon at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

The Utes and Sun Devils played four very tight sets with two sets having at least 10 ties in them. The Utes were competitive throughout the match; however, ASU proved to be too much and won (23-25, 22-25, 25-20, 20-25).

SET ONE

Set one was a back-and-forth battle including 10 ties and seven lead changes starting with a kill by freshman middle blocker Katelynn Field following an Arizona State serve.

The Utes and Sun Devils exchanged ties and lead changes before Utah went up 8-6. ASU followed with a 4-0 run to take a 10-8 set lead.

The tenth tie of the set was broken by the Sun Devils as they won the next two points to take the first set 25-23.

SET TWO

The Sun Devils got out to a quick start in the second set, winning the first two points.

Opposite hitter Neea-Maria Joki responded with a kill and a block of her own to tie the score. An ace by freshman libero McKenna Payne would give the Utes their first lead of the set 3-2.

With contributions from Joki, Field, and junior outside hitter Kamryn Gibadlo, the Utes held onto the lead for most of the early stages of the set.

Despite Joki's six kills in the set, the Utes ultimately dropped the set 25-22.

Joki with the kill to tie it up. ??
??ESPN+ #GoUTES pic.twitter.com/Dr2SNIBO5Q
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) October 18, 2025

SET THREE

The third set started with the Sun Devils scoring three out of the first four points of the set.

Led by three kills from Joki and two from sophomore outside hitter Levani Key-Powell, the Utes proceeded to go on their longest run of the match scoring five straight points to give themselves a 6-3 lead.

A block by setter Isabelle Marco extended the Utes lead to four at 10-6; that lead was quickly topped as back-to-back Gibadlo kills gave the Utes a 14-9 lead, forcing a Sun Devils timeout.

A 3-0 Sun Devils run was quickly halted by Joki's 13th kill of the match as the Utes held a 16-13 lead.

Gibadlo's sixth kill of the set would make the Utes the first team to 20 points in the set as the lead stretched to six. The lowest the Utes lead reached was three, and the set was finished off by a Gibadlo ace, as the Utes prevailed 25-20.

SET FOUR

Much like the other three sets, the fourth set started off with the Sun Devils and Utes exchanging points early. Kills from Joki, Gibadlo, and senior middle blocker Emrie Moea'i helped pace the Utes as the teams stayed deadlocked at 9-9.

The Sun Devils won the next two points, but a service error followed by a service ace from senior setter Leah Wilton-LaBoy once again tied the set.

After the Sun Devils extended their lead to three, Field had a big kill to cut the deficit to 17-16. However, the Utes could not tie it back up as the Sun Devils won the fourth set 25-20 to win the match.

STANDOUT STATS

Utes Total Stats: 57 kills, 6 aces, 54 assists, 6 blocks, 52 digs.
Joki set a season-high for kills with 18
Marco recorded 40 assists and tied a season-high with 11 digs

UP NEXT

The Utes go across the country to take on Cincinnati on Wednesday, Oct. 22 at 4:30 p.m. MT and then head to West Virginia for a Friday match on Oct. 24 at 5 p.m. MT

Both games will be available on ESPN+.

2025 UTAH VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE, ROSTER, & TICKETING INFO.

View full schedule here. | Check out Utah Volleyball's full 2025 roster here.
Season tickets are available here. | Single game tickets are available here.

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For an inside look at the Utah Volleyball program, including tournament, roster and news updates, fans can follow the Utes on social media (Twitter: @UtahVolleyball | Instagram: @utahvolleyball).

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