Senior volleyball middle blocker Meredith Richardson has helped N.C. State (6-0) bounce back from the depths of the Division I ranks, bringing the Wolfpack into the upper tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference.

State will take its perfect record into this weekend’s Rice Tournament, located in Houston, Texas. The team will take on Missouri on Friday.

The Technician had the chance to talk with the Brentwood, Tenn. native to discuss her progress since she joined the Pack.

Technician: How has it been since arriving at N.C. State and how has the team progressed up until this point?

Richardson: “Freshman year, we were not the best. I came to State knowing that it was last or second-to-last in the conference. Knowing that we were going to build up, I was prepared for that. I was recruited by the other coaches [under former volleyball head coach Charita Stubbs], and then we got a new coach [head coach Bryan Bunn], and it was amazing how quickly we bounced back and got better, so the coaching staff did an amazing job in getting us to the middle of the ACC that year. Then last year, we ended up in the top four, which was amazing and a lot faster than I expected. I am so excited to see how fast we had gotten and how great we became.

Q: Despite knowing that the program was a lower-tier competitor, what led you to your eventual signing with the Wolfpack?

A: “I am majoring in civil engineering, so I was looking for a school with engineering and a place where I could play on the volleyball court. I was looking at a lot of schools that were interested in me, but they did not have a good engineering program. It was hard to find somewhere that wanted a middle blocker that was tall, had an engineering program and was close to home. This is not really close, but it was closer than a lot of schools. [N.C. State] told me that I would play, so that was one of the things that got me. My high school team was a brand new school that started off low in the conference, but then my senior year, we were state runner-ups, so I was used to having a program like that.”

Q: How was arriving with the team the same year Coach Bunn began his first season at the helm?

A: “Usually, coaches have things established already, but when I got there, he was still enacting all of his policies, so it was nice though because it was not like I was the sole freshman coming in by myself. I think we had 10 new players my freshman year, so everything was new for everyone except for the few who were still on the team from the last season. Brie and I are still the only ones on the team from that freshman year, so it is really cool thinking back to then when we were not that great as opposed to where we are now.”

Q: Now that you are one of the senior leaders, how have you embraced the new leadership role you are in?

A: “I have never been the type of person who was that vocal leader on the court. I was more of the leader by example, and I did everything I was told plus l did a lot of extra stuff just to be faster and quicker, and I was always an example outside of volleyball in the classroom in that kind of respect, but this year is different. I am learning to get the team to respect me in that kind of way as a leader as opposed to just a leader by example, so I need to be more vocal in that respect and showing them what it is like to act like a winner because in the past, it was harder because we were not used to acting like winners in years past.”

Q: The team has started off with a 6-0 record and is continuing to get better. How is it seeing the team develop with the hot start?

A: “It is really exciting. It is good to know we have a few good matches already under our belt and that we have a good start. This weekend should be a lot harder. The teams should be a lot harder than the teams we played previously. It will be another challenge, but it is good to know we have those wins already as a confidence booster and knowing that, in Buffalo, we could win on the road. We had trouble last season winning on the road, so that is why we took this trip, so that we could win and gain that confidence.”