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Six Pac-12 squads are in the latest national Top 25 rankings in Division One volleyball.
Arizona State, however, is not one of them. But, as the Utah Utes know well by now, there's not many easy games in conference play.
After winning a tough five-set match at No. 16 Colorado on Wednesday, the Utes were stretched to five again Saturday night by the Sun Devils. What mattered in the Pac-12 home opener for the Utes was a victory, 22-25, 25-14, 25-27, 25-15, 15-11.
"Every match in the Pac-12 is a battle. That's just the way it is," Utah coach Beth Launiere said. "They [ASU] had a new coach, a bunch of new players, so we didn't really know much about them.
"I kind of wasn't surprised that we might get into a situation like that," she added.
Tied at 10 in the deciding fifth set, Utah (11-2, 2-0) moved into the lead with a kill by Emma Kirst. The 6-foot-4 sophomore saw more playing time at the end of the match as Launiere switched from a one-setter to two-setter rotation to get more size on the front line.
Freshman Bailey Choy was the primary setter for most of the match, but rotated with sophomore Jessie Openshaw in the deciding set.
"That's so understandable. Coach Beth is so smart. They're just looking out for the better of the team," Choy said. "Whatever it takes to win."
Another late insertion, freshman Torre Glasker, scored a block to give Utah a 12-10 lead in the fifth. After a Sun Devil point, Utes' junior Eliza Katoa hit a blistering kill from the middle for a 13-11 advantage.
An ace by Brianna Doehrmann and a missed kill by Arizona State (7-7, 0-2) finished off the match.
The Sun Devils started strong behind the hitting of outsides Maya McClendon and Cassidy Pickrell and were ahead almost the entire first set. The roles reversed every time the teams switched nets as Utah breezed to easy victories in the second and fourth sets.
Adora Anae led the Utes with 22 kills while Carly Trueman added 10 putaways.
"The reality is finding ways to win. We have to clean up our game, because we're kind of up-and-down," Launiere said. "But we haven't had a ton of practice time. That Wednesday [at Colorado] to start conference really chops things up.
"I think we're being a little bit inconsistent, but I think that's a function of where we are in the season," she added. "The good news is that we're winning."