Ace athlete and student: Meet ASU Volleyball player Mary Shroll

Mary Shroll, a graduate Sun Devil studying business analytics at the W. P. Carey School of Business, was raised in a volleyball-centric environment.

“I grew up in a volleyball family, I started at a very young age going to the YMCA,” Shroll said. “I had two older sisters that played as well, so I was always in the volleyball realm. I knew I wanted to play in college at a young age.”

After completing her undergraduate studies at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California, the opportunity to continue playing volleyball in her home of Tempe, Arizona, arose.

“I had some extra years of eligibility, and it was just a super exciting idea to come back home and be with my family," Shroll said.

Shroll chose ASU for her graduate program, excited at the prospect of playing volleyball in her hometown.

"The opportunity came, they had new coaches, and it was a new slate for the season,” Shroll said. “And for me, that was super exciting to really come in and be one of the first to help lay the foundation for the next era of ASU volleyball."

Shroll said that the connections she has developed with her coaches, teammates and other Sun Devils have been the most rewarding part of playing.

“You are here in the gym putting in hours and work,” she said. “But the relationships that you have with your teammates and the relationships that you have with your coaches and in athletics and all the different people that you can meet, it's really what you make out of it”

Shroll continued to say that making the most out of the experience as a student-athlete includes finding the balance between classwork and athletics.

“My master's degree—it is very demanding, I have all-in-person classes,” Shroll said. “It can get difficult at times to balance both of them, especially in season. Obviously, continuing your sport is super exciting, and a master's program is difficult, but it is all extremely rewarding.”

Shroll decided to pursue her master’s in business analytics after realizing her passion for data during the senior year of her undergraduate program, in which she completed a capstone project that had a heavy focus on numbers. After starting her graduate program, she found her experience in the classroom to be a surprising one.

“In the classroom, they really push us to be the best, and see how much we can learn,” she said. “I always knew grad school was going to be more difficult, and that surprised me in a good way.”

Shroll said that the support she gets from her professors and coaches is what made her time at ASU such a great experience.

“Another thing that has just made me love ASU so much is the love and support from all the surrounding staff, also within athletics, and all of the different resources that they have at our disposal is just truly amazing.”

If you want to support Shroll and the Sun Devil Volleyball team, check their website to see their latest schedule or follow their Instagram page.