N.C. State lost 3-1 in each match against East Carolina, Dartmouth and Akron in the Holiday Inn Brownstone Classic at Reynolds Coliseum last weekend.

Supporters in the stands ranged from fans to fellow athletes as the Wolfpack played its first set of matches in front of a home crowd.

According to freshman outside hitter Megan Rehmer, the opportunity to play in Reynolds was exciting for the 10 freshmen.

The young starting lineup included new setter Alex Smith, who played every game and came away with all-tournament honors.

“We knew we were going to come in here and dominate, and start a new team, and change the program. That’s our goal,” Smith, said.

Coach Charita Stubbs said she rarely considers the age of her team as a factor this season. She pointed to an inability to execute on offense this weekend.

“You look at the number of swings the outside hitters are taking, and we’re not scoring enough on that,” Stubbs said.

Rehmer, said the front row was working on net play in the final game against Akron Saturday night.

“We were trying to have fast approaches and get up and beat their block,” she said.

The Pack had 84 digs against Akron, more than that in both matches against East Carolina and Dartmouth, and a total of 27 team blocks over the course of the weekend. Stubbs said she is not as concerned about defense.

“I never felt as though we didn’t go for the ball in general, which is a good thing,” Stubbs said. “A lot of easy balls went down because of our inability to concentrate and remember what exactly is supposed to be taking place in a given situation.”

Senior Andi Bentley said the tournament put the team in a good position.

“We’re going to get there,” Bentley said. “We have to. We’re working on coach-ability, competitiveness, accountability, mental toughness.”

Despite what Stubbs called disappointing tournament results, she said she is not discouraged.

“In the grand scheme of things, we’re fine,” Stubbs said. “We’re doing things we’re capable of doing. We’re just not doing the things we need to do more often. We’ll do it for two plays and then forget for seven plays, and that’s a freshman thing.”

Stubbs said she takes each match as it comes. She approaches the season in three parts and said part one is over.

Part two begins with State’s first ACC match of the season against North Carolina this Friday. While the team hasn’t focused on UNC specifically, Stubbs said players understand what the match means.

Smith said she’s looking forward to it.

“As freshmen I don’t think it’s going to be as much of an impact our first year,” Smith said. “We’re going to go through the experience, and then next year it’ll be on. It’s not about losing. It’s about being mean.”

While Rehmer and Smith commented on the importance of the rivalry, Bentley had a different perspective.

“Every game is the game of the year for me — senior year,” Bentley said.