Ending its fall season on a four-game winning streak, the NC State volleyball team will look to build on that momentum this spring with another slate of matches in head coach Luka Slabe’s first year in charge.
In a shortened eight-match fall season, the Wolfpack (4-4, 4-4 ACC) started out slow, dropping two-straight back-to-back matches against Duke and North Carolina to start the season 0-4. The team then had a midseason turnaround as it won its next two back-to-backs against Virginia and Virginia Tech to finish the season with four straight wins and an even .500 record.
“We were pushed, and we were punched in the face,” Slabe said. “… We were forced to make some adjustments… That’s really good to learn as early as possible in the season, so then you have time to work through obstacles and everything that must be done, and I think to a certain degree, we successfully adjusted and adapted. We have to be happy about the fall.”
Throughout the fall season, NC State improved its offensive efficiency. After failing to reach a .100 hitting percentage in the first three matches, the Pack finished with a hitting percentage of above .200 in four of the next five matches.
NC State was also consistently good on defense, allowing the lowest opponent hitting percentage and the second-lowest opponent kills per set in the league. The team only allowed a hitting percentage of above .200 in one match and held its opponents below .100 in the final two matches.
As it transitions into the spring, NC State will be led by its two veteran stars, junior outside hitter Jade Parchment and senior opposite hitter Melissa Evans, who were the top two on the team in kills and points in the fall. Both were top-10 in the ACC in kills and points as well. As the leaders of the team, Parchment and Evans will play a huge role in the team’s future success.
“I think at the beginning of last season, one of the things we talked about a lot was being OK with failure and being able to work through things,” Parchment said. “As long as you’re OK with failing, and as long as you’re OK pushing through some of that adversity, in the end, you’ll get the outcome you want, and I think the way we ended our season last semester was a result of that. Hopefully, as we continue to push ourselves toward that and continue with that mindset, that’s what will roll over into the spring.”
In a highly unusual season during a global pandemic and under a new head coach, finishing with four straight wins gave the team a nice feeling heading into the offseason.
“You finish the season strong with four wins in a row; when you go home, you feel good about what you accomplished,” Slabe said. “That means we probably have a little more buy-in when it comes to, ‘There’s a lot of work you got to do back home….’ It’s way easier to do that when you have a little more success.”
The Pack will work to continue to improve on offense and play well on defense as it carries momentum into its 11-match spring slate.
While the team played against some good competition in the fall, things will only get tougher in the spring as NC State will play against all four ACC teams that are ranked in the top-25: No. 14 Louisville, No. 13 Notre Dame, No. 17 Georgia Tech and No. 19 Pitt.
The season will be composed of one exhibition game and 11 regular season games. Each weekend, except the first, the team will play two back-to-back matches either at home or on the road against two different teams. For road trips, NC State will play one match against the host team and another match against a different ACC team in the same place. For example, the Pack travels to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame for its first road trip on March 5, then plays in South Bend the next day against Miami.
While the four wins to end the fall sent the team home with a good feeling heading into the offseason, Slabe knows that this will be a new season, and the strong finish in the fall won’t translate into any wins in the spring.
“Is that going to carry over into our first weekend when we go to Notre Dame? Absolutely not,” Slabe said. “It’s a new chapter. We’re probably going to have some new pieces. We’re a little bit different; we understand volleyball differently… For sure it’s going to be a different beast.”
The season will start against some familiar foes as the Pack hosts UNC in an exhibition match Feb. 13 and plays Duke in the first regular season match Feb. 26. The match against UNC is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m., while the match against Duke is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. and will be broadcasted on ACC Network Extra.
