(Provo, UT) Behind strong offensive performances from Marta Levinska and Geli Cyr, No. 5 seed Sun Devil Volleyball made a statement in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by sweeping Georgia (25-21, 25-12, 25-20) on Friday night at the Smith Fieldhouse.
Notable Stats
Arizona State (27-6) got its first NCAA Tournament win since 2014 by beating Georgia (19-12). ASU now has 27 wins on the year, which is tied for the second-highest win total in program history. Additionally, this was the 19th sweep of the season, extending the single-season program record.
The Sun Devils hit .427 in the win, which is an ASU record in an NCAA Tournament match.
Junior outside hitter Geli Cyr hit .529, which is also an NCAA Tournament record for a Sun Devil. She had 10 kills and seven digs.
Senior opposite Marta Levinska led all players in kills with 17 on a .464 clip. This was her 18th match in a row with double-digit digs. She also had four blocks.
The block was on fire in the win as Arizona State had 10, the team’s ninth this season with 10 or more. Graduate middle blocker Maddie McLaughlin led the way with seven blocks, followed by Levinska’s four.
The serve receive was stellar for ASU, not allowing a single ace in the win.
Graduate setter Shannon Shields had 28 assists in three sets, adding six kills. She has had at least four kills in the last five matches.
Quotes:
Head Coach JJ Van Niel
Opening statement:
“Tournament wins are hard to come by. Georgia is a really good time, and I thought we came out and executed pretty flawlessly. The first set was close until Claire’s serve kind of broke it open. We had so many contributions from everyone. It was just a fun match. Our passing was pretty unbelievable tonight and it put a lot of pressure on Georgia to sideout because we were siding out at a great rate.”
On thoughts for tomorrow:
“I’ve played down here a few times when I was in Utah and it’s gonna be a rowdy crowd. It’s gonna be a loud crowd and it’s gonna be fun. I think they do a really good job and they know volleyball well here. So it’s always really fun. It’s hard to play here for sure, but again, for us, we gotta keep doing what we do and play our game and pass really well. And if we can do that then, you know, we have a shot. But, it’s a fun environment. It’s one of my favorite places. Well, it’s my favorite and least favorite place to play, because it’s hard to play here, but the crowd is really good and they get really fired up and, and I like being in those environments.”
Set One: ASU 25, Georgia 21
The first set started close, Georgia with a tight lead to start. Three Bulldog errors in a row tied it at 6-6 and the teams traded ties for a bit. Three in a row that included a second overpass kill from Cyr this set put the Sun Devils up 12-10. Shields’ dump set made it a 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. Geli stayed hot this set, getting two kills down the stretch to give ASU a 21-19 lead and forcing a Georgia timeout. Arizona State ended the set with three-straight points, including a huge stuff block from McLaughlin and Shields, to win 25-21.
Set Two: ASU 25, Georgia 12
Levinska stayed hot in the second set. A couple of kills from her put ASU up 4-3. A 5-1 run from the Sun Devils saw two kills from Cyr and pushed the lead to 13-7, forcing the Bulldogs to use both timeouts in the run. Arizona State put the set away with a huge 9-0 run with Shields at the service line. During the run, the M&M duo of McLaughlin and Levinska had three blocks on the outside, including two in a row to win the set 25-12.
Set Three: ASU 25, UGA 20
The momentum held with the Sun Devils in the third set. An ace from Jeter put them up 5-3 early on to create some separation. ASU slowly added to the lead and a kill from McLaughlin extended her team’s lead to 15-11 heading into the media timeout. Kills from Rabelo and Levinska made it 17-12 before the Bulldogs scored four in a row to get within two at 18-15, bringing the Sun Devils’ first timeout of the match in that stretch. Georgia tied it at 18-18 before Levinska’s kill sparked a 3-0 run for ASU to make it 21-18, capped off by a block in the middle from Jeter. Finally, a tip kill from Jeter completed the sweep, winning the third set 25-20.
Up Next
Arizona State will play in the second round on Saturday at 7 p.m. MST on ESPN+. ASU will face the host team No. 4 BYU after the Cougars swept Weber State to advance.
Press Release courtesy of Sun Devil Athletics – Kimberlie Haner
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