The No. 20 Utah Volleyball (9-4, 1-1 Pac-12) team is heading to Arizona this weekend for their third Pac-12 matchup. They will take on the University of Arizona (10-4, 0-2 Pac-12) on Friday, followed by Arizona State (9-4, 1-1 Pac-12) on Sunday. 

Last week, the Utes started Pac-12 play by beating Colorado in three straight sets, but they later lost to No. 25 Oregon in five sets. After this week, the Utes still remain ranked at No. 20 in the coaches’ poll. 

The Utes will play Arizona first on Friday at 7 p.m MT in Tucson. In the last five matches, the Utes have taken three from the Wildcats. So far this season, Arizona has lost to both Arizona State and USC. 

In Tucson last fall, the Utes weren’t able to take the win, but when they competed at home, they won in five sets. Both Dani Drews and Kenzie Koerber had double digit kill nights when playing the Wildcats. Brianna Doehrmann achieved her season high of 28 digs that evening as well. 

After the Utes play Arizona on Friday, they will get the day off before heading to Tempe on Sunday to play Arizona State at 1 p.m MT. Arizona State currently holds the same conference and non-conference records as the Utes, making this an even matchup.

Arizona State beat Arizona in three straight sets to start off conference play, but fell to UCLA in three the following week. ASU will face the Colorado Buffs earlier in the week before they host Utah.

This match is big for Utah because the team hasn’t lost to ASU since 2015. During the 2018 season, the Utes beat the Sun Devils in three straight sets both at home and away. Drews also had another impressive match last year against the Sun Devils with 13 kills, two blocks and 12 digs. 

While both teams have played a good season so far, Utah remains the team who is ranked and the favorite to win both matches. Friday’s game will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks, and Sunday’s game will start will be live streamed on the Arizona State Athletics website.

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