Block Denies St. John’s in Second-Straight Sweep

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Behind a strong block and balanced hitting, Sun Devil Volleyball improved to 2-0 in 2023 after sweeping St. John’s (21-11, 21-17, 21-10) on Saturday afternoon at Alico Arena.

Notable Stats

• Arizona State (2-0) got its second sweep in a row to start the season, outhitting St. John’s (1-1) .382 to .054. ASU is also 2-0 at the FGCU Invitational.
• The block was on fire in the match as the Sun Devils totaled 12 to the Red Storm’s one. Graduate middle blocker McLaughlin led the way with a career-high six blocks.
• The serve was on fire in the match for ASU, tallying nine total. In the first set alone, the team had seven aces. Senior libero Mary Shroll tied her career high of three aces in just the first frame.
• Senior opposite Marta Levinska led all players with 13 kills, hitting .387 with just one error in the winning effort. She also notched four blocks and three aces. She passed Leanne Schuster (1991-94) into 17th place in ASU history for career kills with 1,042, 17 behind 16th place. This was also her 14th-straight match (dating back to last season) reaching double figures in kills, extending her record-long streak.
• The Sun Devils put together a balanced attack as four had six or more kills. Aside from Levinska, senior middle blocker Claire Jeter had eight kills (on a .571 clip), junior outside hitter Geli Cyr had six kills (and nine digs) and McLaughlin also had six kills.
• Fifth-year senior setter Shannon Shields had 29 assists and nine digs for a near double-double. 
• The defense was also balanced as three different Sun…