Coach Bryan Bunn will test a lineup of ten inexperienced players this weekend with the team’s inter-squad scrimmage, the Wolfpack Challenge, Saturday at 7 p.m . in Reynolds Coliseum.

This will serve as an introduction, for fans and team, to all of the new faces this season.

With this inexperience, Bunn has been using its practice time to evaluate where all of his players will fit in the lineup.

“We have a lot of new faces, so we’re looking forward to seeing how they fit in all of the positions,” Bunn said. “It’s been good. They’re a very competitive group and with the returns that we have, there have been exciting practices. Everybody’s fighting for positions right now, so it’s a lot of fun.”

According to senior Margaret Salata , who lead the team in blocks and kills per set last season, the freshmen have done an excellent job of following Bunn’s philosophy and have already made significant contributions to the team in its young season.

“They’ve done an awesome job,” Salata said. “We had a shorter than usual two-a-day season, but its just as tough as any other and they’ve done a great job to help us improve as an overall team. I think our practices have gone very smoothly; he’s done a very good job of making it skill based and bringing in the new girls. They’ve definitely taken what he’s absorbed and it’s definitely going to make us better in the end. “

Salata believes the Wolfpack Challenge will serve as a great platform for the new players to get all of their nerves out of the way and truly embrace what it means to be a member of the Pack.

“It will be the first time we’ll be in a true competitive environment with the fans there,” Salata said. “It will be the first time for the majority of our team that’s new that will be playing as a Wolfpack athlete. I think it will be a good start for them to get the jitters out of playing in front of a crowd that’s big. “

Despite inexperience, Bunn and the rest of the team know they will rely heavily on its veteran presence this season.

“Megan Cyr has done a great job setting. Kelly Wood has been doing a great job; she’s doing very well over the past week,” Bunn said. “Margaret Salata and Meredith Richardson have both done very well in the middle. Megan Cyr is the starting setter, but Kelly Wood has a lot of experience and she’s a great leader so we’re looking forward to her being a great leader.”

With this first look at the volleyball program this year, expect plenty of new faces and experimentation from coach Bunn to find the right combination on the court and bring hope back to a program that has lost its luster in recent years.