The NC State women’s volleyball season began with the Wolfpack Challenge Intrasquad Scrimmage at Broughton High School this past weekend.
The Wolfpack was split into two teams, the red team and the white team, for a scrimmage consisting of four sets. After each set, the teams were rearranged so all players were able to play with and against one another.
This was the first chance of the season for the fans to see the Wolfpack in action, and the game ended with the red team taking the exhibition win 3-1.
“It was the first time playing in front of people all summer, so we were a little nervous,” senior middle blocker Morgan Cormier said. “We have a lot of young girls, so it was a lot of getting-the-jitters-out.”
Cormier had 11 kills and a service ace while playing on the victorious red team. Sophomore middle blocker and 2014 All-ACC freshman team member Kaitlyn Kearney led the team in kills with 16 throughout all four sets of the scrimmage.
“We were nervous, but I feel we came back really competitive in the second and third sets,” Cormier said.
Not only was it a first time for the fans but also the first time in an NC State uniform for the six freshmen additions to the team.
“This was a good warmup to see what it’s like to play at this level,” Cormier said. “They’ll all contribute in some way this year, and they did a really good job stepping up and taking a big role today.”
Among the fresh faces on the court is Becky Porter, the new freshman setter from Charlotte. Becky had high numbers of sets and assists while playing on the white team, where she was teamed with senior setter Tanna Aljoe for three out of four sets.
“I try to mentor and teach Becky as much as I know and what head coach [Bryan] Bunn has taught us thus far,” Aljoe said. “Maggie and I are having a lot of fun working together with Becky.”
Junior Maggie Speaks, also a setter for the team, will now not only be battling Aljoe for the starting setter spot, but also Porter.
“Having three setters keeps it really competitive,” Aljoe said.
Bunn confirmed the high level of competition for one of the most important spots on the team.
“Becky will push for the spot,” Bunn said. “She’s a freshman, so she’s got a lot to learn, but she’s doing a great job.”
Bunn said he was looking forward to seeing tough serving and good defense before the start of the match.
“We did better in serving than we did in the past, and we had good defense in the third and fourth sets but not so much in the first two, so our defense still needs work,” Bunn said.
The general feeling from the team after the scrimmage was one of positivity, but plenty of work remains before the group’s ready for the start of the season this coming weekend.
“We definitely need to work on our defense,” Bunn said.
Despite the strides the team still needs to make in the coming week and plenty of new faces to integrate, the Pack can count on a strong sense of togetherness.
“We have a lot of work to do, we all had a lot of fun but we need to work on our serving and our defense,” Aljoe said. “We have a great team chemistry and I’m super excited for the rest of the season.”
The Wolfpack will play in its first tournament of the season this weekend at the South Carolina Tournament in Columbia. The team’s first match is against North Carolina Central University.
