North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Volleyball Players Report For Fall Practice
8/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 8, 2001
RALEIGH, N.C. - The NC State volleyball team offically began the Mary Byrne Era on Wednesday when the full squad reported to campus for the start of preseason practice. Byrne, the Wolfpack's first-year head coach, welcomed the team's 13 players at a 4 p.m. meeting. The players then underwent mandatory physical examinations from team physicians.
The Wolfpack, which returns four starters and eight letterwinners from a year ago, will begin full practices on Thursday, August 9, and will practice three times daily through August 14. Practice sessions will be scaled back to twice daily from August 15-19. Classes begin for the fall semester on August 20, at which time the team will begin its normal fall practice schedule.
"We're very excited to get started," Byrne said. "It'll be nice to have the complete team here. We went through spring practices with just the upperclassmen, and now the freshmen join them and we can begin working as a complete team. We'll start out this week and see how fast we progress. Team morale is very high and the attitude is positive. That will help bring a lot of energy to our fall season."
NC State will play its first match on September 1 vs. Jacksonville State in the IUPUI Tournament in Indianapolis, Ind. The Wolfpack will play Eastern Michigan and IUPUI on September 2, also in the IUPUI Tourney, and then will play at Butler on September 3. The Wolfpack will open its home schedule on September 7-8 in the NC State Wolfpack Classic. The Pack will play Marshall on September 7, and High Point and Campbell on September 8.
Byrne, hired on February 14, is the sixth coach in the history of the NC State program. She came to NC State after compiling a 175-88 mark in eight seasons at South Dakota State, which she built into an NCAA Division II powerhouse. The Jackrabbits won 20 or more matches in each of Byrne's last five years there, compiling a 100-31 mark over those five seasons.
Three of Byrne's last four SDSU teams earned a berth in the NCAA Division II Tournament, and her 2000 squad won the North Central Conference championship and finished the season ranked fourth in the nation with a 29-4 overall record. She was named North Central Conference Coach of the Year.
