The volleyball team will take the court tonight in historic Reynolds Coliseum with the team’s best start since 2005 and riding winning vibes that stem from winning five of the team’s last eight contests.
The Wolfpack will host Boston College as State opens up ACC play against the last conference foe to lose to the Pack. State last won an ACC match back in 2005, the Eagles’ first year in the ACC and State head coach Charita Stubbs’ first year as coach of the Wolfpack. Stubbs’ team won 3-1 in Chestnut Hill that year.
Since joining the ACC in 2005, BC has gone 22-44 in conference while State’s ACC record is 1-65. Though neither team has had great success recently, State’s players aren’t concerned about their opponents, even amidst predictions that this Friday is the Pack’s best chance to earn their first ACC victory in almost three years.
“We tend to focus on our game,” junior standout Arlee Tamietti said. “Our focus is doing our job and doing what we know we can do.”
Tamietti, a recent transfer and psychology major, is leading the team in kills and service aces, while freshmen Margaret Salata and Kelly Wood lead the Pack in blocks and digs respectively.
While wins and success are the ultimate goals for the team, Tamietti said the team wasn’t paying much attention to the hype of the game.
“We have our own expectations,” she said. “We have faith in ourselves and we know we can do it. We’re just working hard to get there.”
State took two matches in last weekend’s East Carolina Tournament with victories against Marshall State and ECU, and those victories, especially against the in-state Pirates, have helped the team’s preparation for ACC play according to Stubbs.
“It definitely helped our confidence,” Stubbs said, though she also mentioned the maturation of the freshman on the team who stepped into big-time playing roles. “They’re doing the things we knew they were capable of.”
Tonight’s match in Reynolds is slated to start at 7 p.m., while Sunday afternoon’s match against Maryland will begin at 1 p.m.