Utah Volleyball Heads to the Desert to take on Arizona and ASU

Photo by: Sophia Kuder/Utah Athletics

Utah Volleyball Heads to the Desert to take on Arizona and ASU

9/30/2025 3:35 PM | Volleyball

Utes look for a bounce-back as Big 12 play rolls on

SALT LAKE CITY- Utah Volleyball heads out on the road this week to take on Arizona and Arizona State after tough losses the weekend before against Iowa State and Colorado to open conference play.

First up, the Utes go south to Tucson, Ariz. on Thursday, Oct. 2 to battle it out nationally with the Wildcats on FS1 at 7 p.m. MT. Carlo Jimenez and Anna Connelly will be on the call.

Utah then goes two hours north to Tempe on Saturday, Oct. 4 for a 1 p.m. MT serve against the No. 8 Sun Devils on ESPN+. Ryan Sykora and Kelly Burke will be on the call.

Off to the desert we go ????#GoUtes pic.twitter.com/WnwNMVPLiK
— Utah Volleyball (@UtahVolleyball) September 29, 2025

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 682-430 record.
• Kamryn Gibadlo and Emrie Moea'i sit atop the Big 12 in a few statistical categories- "Gibby" is 4th in conference in total kills (197) and 5th in kills/set (4.28) and points (216.5) while Moea'i is 5th in total blocks (60).
• Freshman outside hitter Devyn Weist and sophomore setter Isabelle Marco made their returns to the court against Iowa State and Colorado last week after missing time with injury. Marco hit a new career-high in assists (50) against the Cylones, while Weist tied her career-high in kills (13).
• The Utes spent the first six weeks of the 2025 season ranked in the AVCA Top 25.
• Utah will face eight opponents that started the season on the AVCA Top 25 Coaches Poll when all is said and done, not including their exhibition against No. 2 Texas on Aug. 15.
• 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 (Gibadlo, Moea'i, and 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.

TOP OF THE CLASS
• Team leaders in kills: Gibadlo (197), Moea'i (134), Neea-Maria Joki (68), Allie Grossenbach (49), Devyn Wiest (40).
• Team leaders in assists: Leah Wilton-LaBoy (314), Marco (171), McKenna Payne (33), Levani Key-Powell (9), Grace Moss (8).
• Team leaders in service aces: Key-Powell (14), Moea'i (13), Wilton-LaBoy (11), Gibadlo (8). Lana Mijacic (7).
• Team leaders in digs: Gibadlo (107), Payne (89), Key-Powell (79), Wilton-LaBoy (69), Iliana Linahan (57).
• Team leaders in blocks: Moea'i (60), Field (24), Joki (23), Wilton-LaBoy (22), Gibadlo (20).

SCOUTING Arizona
Utah vs. Arizona: 18-29
H: 12-11 | A: 4-12 | N: 2-6
Arizona started the 2025 season with a 6-0 record, including a tightly contested 3-2 match win away at Boise State. Since their early season dominance, the Wildcats have had a rough go, posting a 1-5 record. This past weekend, the Wildcats took a road trip to the Sunflower State where they kicked off conference play defeating Kansas State in four sets. In their Sunday match, they took on the No. 18 team in the country in the Kansas Jayhawks, where the Wildcats were swept.

SCOUTING Arizona State
Utah vs. Arizona State: 20-19
H: 10-7 | A: 9-10 | N: 1-2
Arizona State took the college volleyball world by storm in the beginning of the season, defeating the defending National Champion Penn State by a score of 3-1. The Sun Devils have continuously climbed throughout the year, now ranking as the No. 8 team in the latest AVCA poll. They have won their past three matches, including defeating No. 18 Kansas on the road in a five-set match. Arizona State was picked pre-season to finish third in the Big 12, but so far have soared to be at the helm of the conference.

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).
• 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 come home to host the Houston Cougars on Thursday, Oct. 9 at 7 p.m. MT for their Breast Cancer Awareness game before having a few days off.

That game 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).

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