32 ■ THE WOLFPACKER
BY MATT HERB
ong before she received her
first recruiting letter as a
seventh-grader growing up
in Novi, Mich., Ava Brizard
knew she wanted to play col-
lege sports. She also knew she
wanted to be a part of some-
thing bigger than herself.
Those two impulses have turned her
into one of the brightest young talents
on an NC State volleyball team that is
looking to move up in the ACC standings
in the years to come.
Brizard is a 6-foot-1 outside hitter
who just completed a stellar freshman
season with the Wolfpack. She finished
second on the team with 256 kills and
was third with 194 digs while earning
ACC All-Freshman honors.
A lot of great college athletes achieve
excellence by being single-minded about
their sport right from the start. Brizard
wanted to be a great college athlete — "I
always dream big," she said — but she
needed to make a change before hitting
her stride.
She had been playing tennis from the
time she was old enough to hold a rac-
quet, and by age 12 she was already feel-
ing burned out. Something about the
game's solitary nature didn't appeal to
her.
L
POWER HITTER
Energetic Newcomer Ava Brizard Brightens The Volleyball Program's Future
