The dawn of a new season for NC State women’s volleyball is quickly approaching. Through an offseason plagued with change, one thing has stayed the same for the Pack — its drive to rise above the competition.
At the conclusion of the 2022 season, the Wolfpack sat in sixth place in the ACC. With nine teams sitting below NC State in the standings, the whole squad will need to be on its A-game in order to stay in the top half of the conference standings.
NC State achieved a 16-13 record and 10-8 record in ACC play in 2022. The Wolfpack won four of its first five ACC matchups and was even able to nab a set off of the then-No.10 Pittsburgh Panthers. The Wolfpack swept three ACC opponents throughout the season, including Virginia, Syracuse and Notre Dame in a mix of home and away matches.
“After we finished last season, we analyzed and jumped on some things very quickly in the spring,” said head coach Luka Slabe. “We tried to hash it out and make some improvements in the parts of the game we could identify we had to get better in.”
The team finished second in the ACC for overall blocks per set with 2.64 and led the ACC in digs per set with 15.3. The Pack’s dominance at the net and ability to keep the set alive drove NC State to become one of the best defensive teams in the conference.
One big difference between the 2022 and the upcoming 2023 season is the loss of a few key players. The departures of defensive specialist Priscilla Hernandez and opposite hitter Vanja Bukilic will greatly impact the level of leadership and experience on this year’s roster. But the Wolfpack isn’t deterred by its young roster, rather empowered by it.
“One of the things about losing Priscilla [Hernandez] and Vanja [Bukilic] is that we lose the experience and leadership,” said sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard. “But now other people are discovering how they can lead the team. We have good leadership now from both younger and older girls, and it all just ties the team up into a nice bow.”
After losing several important players, the 2023 roster is still itching to get back on the court after a long off-season. This new season’s schedule will prove to be challenging — the Wolfpack is set to take on some of the top names in the ACC within its first few conference games.
Before taking on Clemson on Sept. 22 and Georgia Tech on Sept. 24, the Wolfpack has to improve both on and off the court to prepare to face these talented squads. During the off-season, many players worked to assess their weaknesses.
“Definitely after my fall season I wanted to work on my mental game,” Brizard said. “I’ve played in a lot of big matches before, and I’ve been playing volleyball for many years, but there’s nothing quite like playing on the ACC stage. I also want to be more confident going into games and trusting my abilities.”
The Wolfpack needs to improve its offense if it wants to be a competitive team this fall. Last year, NC State finished 14 out of 15 in the ACC for hitting percentage and 11th in kills. The way offense gets better — besides practice — is knowing each other and gaining trust, and the Wolfpack’s worked on that this spring.
“In the spring we focused a lot on team chemistry and getting to know each other more as people,” said Brizard. “…Even when adding four new freshmen to the equation, we have just clicked instantly and it has just been super fun. The team chemistry is what will give us the edge over some of the teams that might be a little more skillful.”
Now with a more experienced squad, Slabe is focused on the postseason.
“We were very young, we had 10 new players on the team last year,” Slabe said. “… Now all those women are back, one year older and one year wiser, and for sure better at playing volleyball. We’re hopeful that this results in what we all are here for, to win a lot of matches and go to the NCAA Tournament.”
This season, the women’s volleyball team is focused on three words: “the one percent.” For Slabe, it is a phrase of warning and expectations.
“When it comes to going to the tournament, winning or losing, it comes down to one percent,” Slabe said. “More than 30% of all sets in the NCAA Tournament last year were won by no more than two points, and we lost and won games last year by those one or two touches. While that one percent might be small in the grand scale of the season, it means everything.”
Brizard considers the phrase an expression of gratitude and excellence.
“For me, being the one percent means I get to do this for all the girls that are looking up to me that want to play college volleyball, all the girls that have ever aspired to play college volleyball, and then for all the women that have played college volleyball and set the stage for me and my teammates to come and have this opportunity,” Brizard said.
The red-and-white will start the regular season on the road, where it’ll take on the Utah Valley Wolverines at the Utah Valley Invitational on Friday, Aug. 25.
