ASU Volleyball: Sun Devils Lose to Utah in Marathon

The long road back home to Tempe for the “road warriors” has finally reached its destination.

The Arizona State women’s volleyball team lost a close five-set match on Saturday against Utah 25-22, 14-25, 27-25, 15-25, 11-15.

This leaves the Sun Devils at 7-7 on the season, including a tough 0-2 start in Pac-12 play.

The good news for the Sun Devils is that they will now return back to Wells Fargo Arena with two matchups against the Oregon schools.

ASU jumped out to a lead of two sets to one, but struggled to close out the match in the fourth and fifth sets.

Star sophomore outside hitter Adora Anae for the Utes played a pivotal role in the victory with her 22 kills on offense, while adding 12 digs on the defensive side.

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Anae’s stellar play is a key reason as to why the Utes are sitting at 11-2 in the ultra competitive PAC-12.

Utah also received impressive performances junior middle blocker Tawnee Luafalemana and sophomore libero Megan Shughrou.

Luafalemana played big on the defensive side by posting nine blocks in the match, while Shughrou led the Utes in digs with 20 for the match.

A big factor in the outcome of the match was Utah’s .206 hit percentage, where ASU struggled and recorded a lowly .099 percentage.

In what appears to be a long season for the Sun Devils through Pac-12 play; senior Cassidy Pickrell remains to be a bright spot for ASU.

Pickrell contributed to the Sun Devils a double-double with 16 kills and 15 digs.

Senior outside hitter Maya McClendon had a nice performance as well for the Sun Devils with her third double-double of the season with 12 kills and 16 digs.

McClendon now has 957 total kills for her collegiate career as she closes in on 1,000 kills for the impressive career.

Next: ASU Volleyball: The Road (Trip) Ends Here

The Sun Devils long awaited home opener at Wells Fargo Arena will be Friday night against the Oregon Ducks at 6 p.m. The game will also be broadcasted on the PAC-12 Network.