Upcoming Event: Volleyball versus #7 Arizona State on October 18, 2025 at 1:00 P.M.
1:00 P.M.
Volleyball
vs #7 Arizona State
.png&width=31&height=31&type=webp)
The University of Utah Athletics
Thursday, September 25
Salt Lake City, UT
7:00 PM
University of Utah
vs
Iowa State
Photo by: Anna Fuder/Utah Athletics
No. 23 Utah Volleyball Opens Big 12 Competition
9/23/2025 12:13 PM | Volleyball
Utes set to host Iowa State and Colorado to begin conference play
SALT LAKE CITY- No. 23 Utah is back home to open Big 12 Conference play against Iowa State and Colorado after going 2-1 to wrap up non-conference play last week in the SLO Classic.
First up, the Utes will host the Cyclones on Thursday, Sept. 25 at 7 p.m. MT for '90s Night at the Huntsman Center.Â
The Utes will then return to the JMHC on Saturday, Sept. 27 at 1 p.m. MT to host the Buffaloes for Youth Day and The Kids' Clinic.
Both games will be streamed on ESPN+ and feature commentary from Krista Blunk and Linda Byington.
FOR THE FANS
 • The first 215 fans in the door for Thursday's match will receive a '90s t-shirt and snap bracelets.
• 250 fidget spinners will be available to kids who show up to Youth Day.Â
• Young fans aged K-6 are encouraged to stay after the match with Colorado on Saturday to participate in our 1-hour kids clinic. The fee to participate is $5.
QUICK HITS
• Head Coach Beth Launiere enters her 36th season at the helm of the program. Utah Volleyball's winningest head coach currently holds a 681-428 record after going 2-1 against in the SLO Classic to end non-conference play in 2025.
• The Utes started the 2025 college volleyball season ranked No. 23 in the AVCA Polls (where they ended 2024) rising as high as No. 20 last week before dropping back to No. 23 after the fourth week of play.
• Utah returns nine players from last season's team that stamped the program's ticket to its 19th appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Three of those returners were 2025 All-Big 12 selections (Kamryn Gibadlo, Emrie Moea'i, and Isabelle Marco).
• The Utes welcome nine newcomers to their 2025 squad that include six freshmen, three transfers, and the addition of nine-year-old "Ultimate Ute" Briar Rose.Â
• Utah will face eight opponents that started the season on the AVCA Top-25 Coaches Poll not including their exhibition against No. 2 Texas on Aug. 15.
TOP OF THE CLASS
• Team leaders in kills: Gibadlo (165), Moea'i (110), Neea-Maria Joki (59), Allie Grossenbach (46), Katelyn Field (27).
•Team leaders in assists: Leah Wilton-LaBoy (109), Marco (109), McKenna Payne (31), Levani Key-Powell (9), Grace Moss (7).
• Team leaders in service aces: Moea'i (13), Key-Powell (12), Wilton-LaBoy (11), Lana Mijacic (7), Gibadlo (5).
• Team leaders in digs: Gibadlo (84), Payne (77), Key-Powell (67), Wilton-LaBoy (61), Iliana Linahan (39).
• Team leaders in blocks: Moea'i (52), Wilton-LaBoy (21), Field (19), Grossenbach (18), Gibadlo (18).
SCOUTING Iowa State
Utah vs. Iowa State: 4-1
H: 1-0 | A: 1-1 | N: 2-0
Iowa State jumps into conference play hot as can be, starting its 2025 campaign with a 10-1 record. Last week, the Cyclones went on the road to go head-to-head with two Big 10 opponents. Iowa State took on Iowa in the Cy-Hawk series, where the Cyclones won a tightly contested match in the fifth set. ISU then traveled to Champaign, Ill. for a weekend pair of matches. After taking care of business versus Eastern Illinois, Iowa State handled the Illinois Illini, winning in four sets. Iowa State has already tied their win total from last year, and is hoping to extend their current five-match win-streak into conference play.
SCOUTING Colorado
Utah vs. Colorado: 20-14
H: 13-3 | A: 6-11 | N: 1-0
The Utes and the Buffaloes are no strangers in volleyball, having competed each year since joining the Pac-12 in 2011. Utah has a six-match advantage in the all-time series, with a three-match win-streak. The Buffs started 2025 with a perfect 9-0 record, sweeping their first five matches, 3-0. That streak came to halt with the Buff's losing their past two matches against their arch-rival from the Mountain West, the Colorado State Rams. Utah has been dominant at home versus Colorado, and looks to continue their success in this series.Â
REIGNING RETURNERS
• Gibadlo returns to the Utes as an AVCA 2025 Division I Player of the Year to watch after becoming Utah's 24th AVCA All-American (honorable mention) in her sophomore year. Gibadlo was also an AVCA All-Region honoree, and was named an All-Big 12 First Team selection after leading the Utes in kills/set (3.43), kills (370), and aces (38). Over the summer, Gibadlo sharpened her skills competing with the U21 National Team, winning gold in the PanAm Cup. In her first season at Utah (2023), Gibadlo earned Pac-12 All-Freshman Team honors. Gibby wasted no time smashing some of her personal-bests, recording 21 kills twice, 46 attempts, 11 digs, and four blocks twice in the span of three weeks.
• Utah returns a strong defensive presence with Moea'i (formerly Satuala) who earned AVCA All-Region honors and a spot on the All-Big 12 Second Team for her solid junior year. In 2024, Moea'i posted double-digit kills in nine matches, setting her season-high against BYU (14) while tying her career-high in total blocks (11) against Utah State. So far this season, Moea'i notched a new career best in aces (5) while matching career-bests in assists (1), and digs (4).
• Isabelle Marco made a splash in her first season at Utah in 2024, earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Rookie Team after leading the Utes in assists per set (5.74) and total assists (625). Marco has started 2025 where she left off in 2024 posting career-bests in kills (4), attempts (6), assists (44), and blocks (3).Â
• Levani Key-Powell is expected to make a bigger impact for the Utes in 2025 after getting her feet wet in 2024 as a freshman. So far, Key-Powell has met those expectations setting new career-highs in kills (13), attempts (27), assists (4), aces (5), and digs (23).
WELCOME TO UTAH
• Along with some seasoned vets, the Utes are welcoming a total of nine newcomers (six freshmen, three transfers, and one "Ultimate Ute") to their 2025 squad.
• Freshman Class of 2025: MB Mijacic, MB DyBorrah Johnson, L/DS Payne, MB Field, OH Devyn Wiest, and OPP Grossenbach.
• Transfer Class of 2025: S Wilton-LaBoy via Oklahoma and Utah State, OH Langley Griffin via Utah Beach Volleyball, and OH/OPP Joki.
• Wiest spent the summer competing with USA Volleyball's U19 Girls' National Team that took silver in the World Championship, while Joki, a reigning ACC All-Freshman Team selection at Clemson went home to Finland to compete with the Finish Senior National Team for the European Championship.
• Utah Volleyball made a last-minute move to sign nine-year-old Briar Rose to their "Ultimate Ute" position through Team IMPACT ahead of the 2025 season. Briar Rose will be with the Utes for two seasons, and will be responsible for teaching Swoop new cheers and keeping team morale high through the competitive year.
UP NEXT
The Utes head out on the road to face Arizona in Tucson on Thursday, Oct. 2 at 6 p.m. MT on FS1. They will then head up the road to Tempe to take on Arizona State on Saturday, Oct. 4 at 2 p.m. MT which will be viewable on ESPN+.
2025 Utah Volleyball Schedule, Roster, & Ticketing Information
View full schedule here. | Check out Utah Volleyball's full 2025 roster here.
Season tickets are available here. | Single game tickets are available here.
FOLLOW THE UTES
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).
Â
DOWNLOAD THE OFFICIAL MOBILE APP OF THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH TODAY – UTAH 360
Players Mentioned
OH
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
OPP
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
OH/OPP
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
S
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
MB
/ Volleyball
L/DS
/ Volleyball
UU
/ Volleyball
OH
/ Volleyball
S
/ VolleyballUtah Volleyball's Neea-Maria Joki - ESPN+ Feature
Friday, October 10
Utah Volleyball's Emrie Moea'i - ESPN+ Feature
Thursday, September 25
Hear It From Harlan featuring Utah Volleyball's Kamryn Gibadlo
Thursday, September 25
Crimson Corner with Bill Riley - Tony Caridi, voice of the West Virginia Mountaineers
Tuesday, September 23