North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Volleyball Opens Season in Charleston
8/22/2012 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
Aug. 22, 2012
NC State (0-0) vs. Jacksonville (0-0)
Friday, Aug. 24, 4:30 p.m.
Series: Wolfpack leads, 2-0.
Last meeting: 1982, NC State won, 2-0.
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NC State vs. Sacramento State (0-0)
Saturday, Aug. 25, 10 a.m.
Series: First meeting
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NC State vs. College of Charleston (0-0)
Series record: Wolfpack leads, 6-4
Last meeting: 1995, NC State won, 3-0.
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RALEIGH, N.C. - NC State's volleyball team opens its season with three matches this weekend at the Hampton Inn & Suites West Ashley Invitational, hosted by the College of Charleston at TD Arena in Charleston, S.C.
The Wolfpack plays its first match on Friday against Jacksonville at 4:30 p.m., followed by matches against Sacramento State on Saturday at 10 a.m. and host College of Charleston at 7 p.m.
"We are ready to play," said head coach Bryan Bunn. "We've been practicing against each other for two weeks and now we are ready to see how we fare against other competition.
"It's a good tournament, with some strong competition and it will give us a good gauge of where we are right now."
Bunn has not decided on a full starting lineup yet, though he knows that senior setter Megan Cyr will be there, as she has been for every match for the last two seasons, and junior middle blocker Brie Merriwether will also be there, as she has been for most of the last two seasons.
He is still considering who from the rest of his deep lineup will earn starting positions.
The three-match weekend will give Bunn and his team the opportunity to improve on the areas of weakness the coach identified following the intra-squad Wolfpack Challenge last Saturday.
"We were pretty solid hitting the ball," Bunn said. "But we have to kill the ball at a higher percentage. We have to be more efficient killers
"We have some pretty good depth at outside hitter and feel like we can put a good lineup on the court."
The Wolfpack is 2-0 all-time against Jacksonville, but the last meeting between the two schools was in 1982 when State scored a 2-0 victory over the Dolphins in the Wolfpack Invitational at Reynolds Coliseum in 1995. The other meeting in the series was in 1980, when the Pack also won 2-0 in the same event.
State is 6-4 all-time against the College of Charleston, with the Pack winning the last meeting in the series 3-0 in the Wolfpack Challenge at Reynolds Coliseum in 1995. That was the only meeting between the two teams since 1981. All previous 10 matches between the two teams have been in Raleigh.
This will be the first meeting in volleyball between the Wolfpack and Sacramento State.
UP NEXT
Following the trip to Charleston, the Wolfpack will have the entire month of September to get comfy on its home court in Reynolds Coliseum. The team plays its next 13 consecutive matches at home, with three games each in back-to-back tournaments and seven straight home matches, including the ACC opener against North Carolina on Sept. 14.
Last season, Bunn's team was 11-5 overall at Reynolds and 4-5 in ACC home matches. The Pack won four of its final five home matches.
The Pack's next road game is slated for Oct. 5 at Miami.
CYR, MICEK NAMED CAPTAINS
Seniors Megan Cyr and Alexa Micek have been named captains of the 2012 Wolfpack volleyball team, head coach Bryan Bunn announced.
Cyr, a two-year starter who has played in every set since transferring to NC State from Colorado, has led the Pack in assists in each of the last two years and ranks in the top 10 for career assists and hitting average.
Micek, a libero/defensive specialist from Oxnard, Calif., has been a regular contributor since transferring to NC State from Pierce College in California.
RETURNING MVPs
Three returning players earned Most Valuable Player honors at tournaments last season. Junior Brie Merriwether was named MVP of the Courtyard Midtown Classic, Nikki Glass was named MVP of the Hilton Garden Inn Mayfaire Classic in Wilmington, N.C., and Megan Cyr was named MVP of the Courtyard Midtown Invitational.
The Wolfpack won all three matches it played in those three tournaments.
