Legend has it that defense wins championships. ASU volleyball has taken that to heart.
Graduate libero Mary Shroll is the anchor to a defense that has confused and frustrated opponents throughout the season. Shroll reached double-digit digs in 18 straight games against BYU going back to last season and more than 20 digs in four games this year. She won the first two Defensive Player of the Week awards for ASU this season.
"My last year, I'm really trying to make it my best year," Shroll said. "Just fine-tuning all the different skills, just working hard in every single skill, and then obviously doing what I can to add to the team as a whole."
While Shroll has proved herself to be a leading defender this season, currently 23rd in the nation and leading the Big 12 in digs per set, she isn't the only defender showing out for the Sun Devils.
The serve-receive trio for ASU has Shroll joined by outsides, senior Geli Cyr and graduate Shania Cromartie. These three have received over 90% of the balls served at ASU, limiting their errors to 0.62 per set. Cyr and Shroll have a reception rate of at least 97% and Cromartie follows closely at just under 93%.
This has helped the Sun Devils control the pace of the game, limiting errors at the start and allowing their hitters to close out rallies. With opponents averaging nearly 2 receiving errors per set, ASU has the upper hand right out of the gate.
While Shroll sees the majority of the team's digs, players like graduate setter Argentina Ung and redshirt freshman setter Brynn Covell have also been able to extend plays and continue rallies with their defensive efforts.
Four players on ASU's roster have over 100 digs this season. At times these plays have given the Sun Devils life, including the spectacular back-to-back saves by Covell and Shroll in the sweep over BYU.
Head coach JJ Van Niel said he likes how the team puts together a scrappy performance that helps put pressure on the opponents.
'I felt like we've out-scrapped, out-defended our opponents, and you've got Mary just flying around and touching, while you have Brynn flying around," Van Niel said in a press conference after the BYU game. "I love how much we scrap. We've talked about that since day one in our gym."
Van Niel said that the defensive effort can get in the heads of opponents, causing frustration that leads to uncharacteristic errors.
"When you're asking any attacker, they keep swinging and get dug, and the ball keeps coming back, they start getting frustrated," Van Niel said.
That constant pressure has kept opponents from thriving, with teams hitting percentage at 0.143 against the Sun Devils, less than half of ASU's hitting percentage this season. Only three teams have managed to hit at least 0.200 against the Sun Devils, with Nebraska being the only team above 0.300.
This is also in part due to the blocks that ASU has this year. They are out-blocking 102 to 84 in total blocks on the year, with a season-high of 14 against Utah. This hasn't always been the case, with the Sun Devils lacking blocking consistency between games early in the season.
Middle blocker Claire Jeter said working on blocking is a season-long project for the Sun Devils.
"We're not the biggest team, but we can be the most defensively strong team, and that includes blocking," Jeter said.
While there is still room to improve in this aspect, the team has been hard at work. The Sun Devils play Texas Tech Oct. 12 in Lubbock, Texas.
Edited by Henry Smardo, Sophia Ramirez and Madeline Schmitke.
Reach the reporter at aldeutsc@asu.edu and follow @AlanDeutschend3 on X.
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Alan is a sophomore studying sports journalism. This is his second semester  with The State Press. He has also worked at Blaze Radio.
