Wolfpack Volleyball Opens Hampton-Keith Era Friday at TCU

Weekend Schedule
Friday, Aug. 26
Northwestern State | Noon | Live Stats
TCU | 8 p.m. | Live Stats | Live Stream ($)

Saturday, Aug. 27
Arkansas State | 2 p.m. | Live Stats
Boise State | 5 p.m. | Live Stats

*Every match will be ticketed during the weekend. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for youth. For more information, click here.

Being a head coach at some point in her career was always in the plan for Linda Hampton-Keith, but it couldn't be just any head coaching job, it had to be the right fit. When the NC State volleyball position became available in early December, Hampton-Keith expressed interest.

From there, the process took off very quickly and the former Arizona State Associate Head Coach was named NC State Volleyball Head Coach on Dec. 23, 2015. Hampton-Keith owns 14 years of assistant coaching experience at the division I level and waited for the perfect opportunity to accept her first head coaching job,

"NC State had everything that I was looking for in a head coaching position," said Hampton-Keith. "The athletics department's commitment to excellence and support for the volleyball program was outstanding.

"From the moment I stepped on campus it became clear that under Dr. Yow's leadership NC State athletics has moved in a direction that supports success at the highest levels."

As a first-time head coach, Hampton-Keith added two veteran assistant coaches that have both been head coaches at the division I level. Kevin Maureen Campbell was the head coach at North Florida and Nicki Holmes served as the head coach at North Carolina Central.

The Wolfpack coaches have hit the ground running since arriving in Raleigh and have worked tirelessly to put the program in position to be successful this season and beyond.

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Quoting Hampton-Keith
Thoughts on opening the season…
"I think our team is excited to play another team other than ourselves. We're all excited to get the journey started. We've been focusing on the process and our defense has been a big part of that.

"The most important thing is that we keep the focus on our side of the net and control the things that we can control. The outcome will take care of itself if we execute and do what we're supposed to."

On her expectations on the weekend…
"We need to execute our system and compete at a high level. We can walk away from the weekend feeling good about ourselves if we accomplish the things that we set out to accomplish on our side of net.

"I think we're passing and blocking pretty well, which will give ourselves options in our offense."

Wolfpack in Season Openers
NC State has opened the season on the road in each of the past four seasons and has compiled a 3-1 mark in its last four season openers. Last year, the Wolfpack swept North Carolina Central, 3-0, to kick off the 2015 campaign.

Ties to TCU
Head Coach Linda Hampton-Keith spent six seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at TCU from 2005-10. She helped guide the program to one of its most successful seasons with a 27-7 overall record in 2009.

Homecoming for Harris, Kearney
Two members of the NC State volleyball team will be heading to their home state for the season opener, as Emily Harris hails from Southlake, Texas, and Kaitlyn Kearney is from Frisco, Texas.

Southlake is about a 30-minute ride to Fort Worth, while Frisco is a little more than an hour away.

Returning Leaders
The Wolfpack returns a strong core of players from its 2015 team, as the squad's leader in kills, assists, blocks and digs are back for the 2016 season. Julia Brown put down 320 kills last year to pace the team, averaging 2.81 kills per set.

Maggie Speaks, who has started at the setter position in each of the past two seasons, returns to run the offense after handing out 1,061 assists a season ago. Defensively, Kaitlyn Kearney averaged 1.26 blocks per set, the sixth best in the conference last year.

Senior libero Rachel Eppley has done a nice job at the position, tallying 3.95 digs per set in 2015 to finish among the top 10 in the ACC.

Fresh Faces
In addition to the new coaching staff, NC State also has six newcomers on the 2016 roster – five freshmen and a transfer. The Wolfpack's incoming freshmen class received high honorable mention honors by PrepVolleyball.com, as two Under Armour All-Americans are in the class along with a top-100 recruit.

Erin Chatman transferred into the program after spending her first two seasons at Ohio State and adds much needed depth at the outside hitter position for the Pack.

Scouting Northwestern State
Northwestern State is in its second year under head coach Sean Kiracofe and struggled in 2015, compiling a 7-22 record in his first season. Friday's contest will be the season opener for both teams and the first matchup between the squads.

The Lady Demons return four starters from last year's team and were predicted to finish ninth in the Southland Conference's Preseason Coaches Poll.

Scouting TCU
The TCU Horned Frogs finished the 2015 season with a 19-10 overall record and a 9-7 mark in the Big 12 Conference. TCU was selected to participate in the NCAA Tournament and dropped a 3-2 decision against Hawaii in the opening round.

NC State and TCU have met once on the volleyball court, with the Horned Frogs earning a 3-1 victory in 2003.

TCU returns five starters from last year's squad and was picked to finish fourth in the conference's preseason poll. The Frogs are also receiving votes for the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 Poll.

Scouting Arkansas State
Arkansas State is coming off a stellar 2015 campaign in which the Red Wolves tallied a 28-2 overall record, advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Arkansas State received 23 votes for the AVCA Preseason Poll, after being ranked in the poll a few times in 2015.

NC State and Arkansas State have met twice, with the Wolfpack winning both of those contests. The teams last met in 2010 when NCSU was victorious, 3-0, at a tournament hosted by Indiana University. The other meeting was in 1992, a slim 3-2 decision for the Wolfpack at home.

The Red Wolves return five starters from last year's team and was picked to win the Sun Belt Conference's West Division by the head coaches.

Scouting Boise State
The Boise State Broncos narrowly missed the NCAA Tournament in 2015, ending the season with a 23-7 record and an RPI of 43.

Saturday's match will be the first meeting between the programs.

The Broncos return four starters from 2015 and were picked to finish second in the Mountain West Conference.

#STATEment

Wolfpack Volleyball Opens Hampton-Keith Era Friday at TCU

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Players Mentioned

Julia Brown

Erin Chatman

Rachel Eppley

Emily Harris

Kaitlyn Kearney

Maggie Speaks