With men and women’s soccer already underway, the NC State volleyball team will kick off its 2015 season with an intrasquad scrimmage Saturday night.
However, the Wolfpack squad that will take the floor this weekend has undergone some changes from last season, most notably the loss of captains Dariyan Hopper and Alesha Wilson.
The duo produced much-needed offense for the Pack late in the season to make up for the unexpected losses of Rachel Buckley and Nikki Glass.
Yet, what was most impressive about Hopper and Wilson was the leadership that the two displayed on and off the court.
This year’s roster is much younger than last year’s — 11 of the 15 players on the State team are freshmen or sophomores.
Despite the youth of the squad, head coach Bryan Bunn said his two seniors — middle blocker Morgan Cormier and setter Tanna Aljoe — are doing a great job of leading by example in practice.
“Tanna and Morgan both have a lot of energy,” Bunn said. “They know when to step up, and they’re vocal, which is nice.”
Since transferring to State in 2013, Aljoe has been a consistent source of energy for the Pack on the court. Even when benched early last season in favor of junior Maggie Speaks, Aljoe continued to be a presence on the court, rallying the troops in team huddles and during timeouts.
Speaks and Aljoe will compete for the starting setter position again this season, a battle which Bunn described as “wide open.”
After redshirting in 2013 due to a season-ending injury, Cormier had a decent comeback season last year and will look to build on that in 2015.
Cormier will be joined on the front line by sophomore middle blocker Kaitlyn Kearney, the Pack’s best player last year. In 2014, the freshman from Frisco, Texas, led the team in kills, blocks and total points.
Kearney earned a number of accolades in her first year at State, including three ACC freshman of the week selections, MVP honors at the Georgia Benson Hospitality Invitational and a spot on the all-ACC freshman squad.
Kearney will likely be the Pack’s top offensive weapon this season, but Bunn said fellow sophomore Perry Ramsey and Julia Brown have been making great strides at the outside hitter position in preseason practice.
A new addition to State’s established front line, the team will add freshman middle blocker Blayke Hranicka, one of six new additions to the Wolfpack roster.
Hranicka was an all-state honoree her senior year at Mullen High School in Denver, Colorado. Bunn said he believes the middle blocker will be able to make an instant impact on the State team.
“Blayke Hranicka is playing really well,” Bunn said. “Kassie Kasper, our defensive specialist, is also playing well. Those two will compete with the seniors to get playing time.”
Kasper is a defensive specialist/libero from Algonquin, Illinois. The freshman will look to make an instant impact on a back line which suffered heavy losses in the offseason, including Alston Kearns and Maddie Brown, who transferred to George Washington.
Though NC State has had success since Bunn took over as head coach in 2010, this season will be the first time the team will not be playing in Reynolds Coliseum. Instead, the Pack will play its home matches at Broughton High School.
Bunn did not sound pleased at the idea of his team playing matches off campus — he said it was not a topic of conversation amongst his team.
“It is what it is,” Bunn said. “There’s really nothing we can do about it, so it’s really not a big deal.”
Regardless of location, the Pack’s scrimmage should be a great indicator of what the team’s 2015 season has in store.
