Andrew Musselman
Eleven conference matches into coach Charita Stubbs’ first season, her volleyball team is 2-18 overall and 0-11 in ACC play. And Stubbs said her team’s competitive fire needs to be lit quite a bit hotter in order to turn things around. So this week in practice she has been pushing her players to find multiple ways to overcome tough situations, implementing more competitive drills than usual as N.C. State prepares for weekend home matches against Virginia Tech and Virginia. “And I think they’re understanding that our competitive nature isn’t where it needs to be and basically finding out how to do different things,” Stubbs said. Stubbs said it’s all about forcing her players to adapt when things get tough in matches.”When there’s a double block in front of a person, instead of hitting the ball straight ahead, can you find a different way to win?” Stubbs said. “You know what the scenario calls for. What do you do in response versus making an error?”Coming off tight losses against Boston College (3-1 on Friday) and Maryland (3-2 on Saturday) last weekend, junior defensive specialist Kasey Rhyne said the team will look to improve on those performances. “We all want to put that behind us, but you have to talk about it [because] you have to learn from your mistakes in order to get better,” Rhyne said. “So that’s what we’re going to do.”Sophomore outside hitter and captain Keshia Raibon said the team can’t afford to let down after getting leads, as it did in relinquishing a 2-0 lead in last Saturday’s match against the Terrapins. “Just fight and finish,” Raibon said. “Don’t start something and [not] finish it.”Junior outside hitter Ashley Wallace has been seeing more playing time lately than she did earlier in the season, and she tallied 14 kills in the close call against Maryland. She said it was a tough loss, but also noted it was nice to have some individual success. After a 3-0 loss at Virginia Tech earlier this season and a 3-1 defeat at Virginia, Wallace said this weekend should yield two solid matches.”They’ll be good games to watch. They’re definitely beatable teams,” Wallace said. “It was fun to play them last time, and I look forward to playing them again.”And for her team to be successful, Stubbs said her players have to learn how to use the tip when they can’t otherwise hit over a block.”We can’t go around the block. We’re not big enough. We’re not physical enough to go around blocks because [that] means you’re going right to their defense,” Stubbs said. “And that’s what they want.”She noted her team does a decent amount of tipping, but it is usually out of desperation rather than making a smart move. “We typically tip out of necessity versus it being a strategic move, and that’s not the way tipping should always be,” Stubbs said. “Because when you tip out of necessity, everyone knows you’re tipping. It’s easy for the defenders to get up.”She said even though she’s glad to be at home for a second straight weekend, she can’t be as sure that her players will be well-rested for the matches as she would be able to if they were on the road. “At least on the road, you know they’re in a hotel and they have no choice but to be resting,” Stubbs said. But from Wallace’s perspective, being at home for a second straight weekend after numerous early-season road trips is a welcome occurrence. “It’s a relief being able to be home,” Wallace said.