The volleyball team wrapped up its season in Florida last week. N.C. State played Florida State on Wednesday and Miami on Friday in its final matches of the season. The Wolfpack failed to win a game, losing 3-0 in both matches.
The losses drop State’s record to 3-29 overall and 0-22 in the conference. With the win on Wednesday, Florida State improved its record to 15-14 and 12-9 in conference. Miami improved its record to 14-17 and 8-14 in conference with their win on Friday. Freshman Lauren Zaniboni, who had six kills against Miami, said the team just couldn’t get everything going.
“There were times when our passing was really good. There were times when our setting was really good, and there were times when our hitting was really good,” Zaniboni said. “There wasn’t one thing that stood out, though. We had lapses in all those areas.”
The Miami match marked the last time three seniors would ever don a Wolfpack uniform. Kasey Rhyne, Ashley Wallace and Andrea Bentley wrapped up their volleyball careers this past weekend. Wallace finished strongly, leading the team in kills against Miami with nine.
For the outgoing seniors, they are wrapping up a career that has seen its share of adversity. In the past four years, State has undergone a coaching change, and the team has won just one ACC match in that time frame.
Freshman setter Alex Smith said it was disappointing not being able to come up with a win for the seniors in the last couple of matches.
“I feel really bad as a freshman coming in that we couldn’t win a game for the seniors,” Smith said. “I know that, for my senior year, I don’t want the same thing to happen. I know for me personally, I’ve worked my butt off, and I gave all my heart so I can give the seniors at least one game. I just feel really sad, and I feel like we let them down that we couldn’t pull out one game for them.”
The Pack is now focused on next season. The team will meet with the coaches before the off-season to discuss what needs to change for next year. Smith said State already has the pieces in place to be successful.
“We don’t really need to change much,” Smith said. “We already have everything we need to win. We just need to use it. We have all the skill, but the thing that we’re lacking is the heart. I know everyone wants to win, but we need to give our all on the court every day.”
