The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1487679
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2023 ■ 33 Determined to channel her competi- tive instincts in some other way, she tried volleyball at her mother's suggestion. There was nothing solitary about that sport. Indeed, the camaraderie was in- escapable. Brizard loved it. "I thought the coolest part was that you got to stop after every point and talk to your team and celebrate and cheer and jump around," she said. "There's really no other sport like that. That's what made it so awesome to me, and it made me want to come in every day — the allure of being able to use that energy to propel your team forward." The switch from tennis to volleyball accelerated Brizard's athletic career in ways that seemed disorienting at times. One day, she came home from school to find a letter bearing a college logo. "I was like, 'What's this? I'm only in seventh grade,' " she recalled. "I ripped it open. I was so excited. I broke out in tears, because it was the first moment where it was like, yeah, I can do this. People are interested in me doing this, and it's a very real possibility. "I always believed that I could do it, but getting that first physical recogni- tion that it was in the cards for me was indescribable." Brizard went on to win Michigan Ga- torade Player of the Year honors follow- ing her junior and senior seasons, both of which ended with her Marian High team claiming the Class A state championship. She chose NC State in large part be- cause she believed in the vision that new head coach Luka Slabe had laid out for the Wolfpack. Slabe had been hired in 2020 after the team stumbled to an 11-19 finish the year before. Only three times in the 20 years prior to his arrival had the Pack finished higher than fourth in the ACC standings, and only twice had it made the NCAA Tour- nament. Slabe arrived with a résumé that in- cluded two years with the U.S. Women's National Team, where he served as an assistant coach under Karch Kiraly and helped the Americans win their first Olympic gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Slabe's credentials, along with his faith in the Wolfpack's potential, resonated with Brizard. "He knows that he wants to turn this program around from being one that was previously at the bottom of the ACC to one that's going toward the top and competing with the Louisvilles and the Georgia Techs and Pitts," she said. "I knew I wanted to be a part of something big and a part of growing a program into a dynasty. To me, there's nothing more exciting than taking a program from zero to hero." NC State went 16-13 overall and 10-8 in ACC play this past season, matching its records from the year before. The Wolfpack wasn't able to end a five-year NCAA Tournament drought, but it did win four of its last five regular-season matches and set the stage for a brighter future. Brizard, who came to Raleigh as part of a six-player recruiting class that ranked among the top 20 in the country according to VolleyballMag.com, is ea- ger to help NC State take the next step. She wants to assume a more active leadership role next season in the hope of helping lift the Pack back to title con- tention. Brizard and Slabe are "on the same page when it comes to doing that," she said. "His first couple of years here, he's done a great job of changing the culture and increasing the level of competition and putting NC State on the map." For Brizard, it's all part of a growth process that goes back to her first few years in the sport. She recalls talking to coaches back when her recruitment was just starting to take off. She barely knew what to say sometimes, but she understood that her future was starting to come into focus. "I was on phone calls in seventh and eighth grade, and they were asking what I wanted to do when I grew up," she said. "I was like, 'I don't even know what I want to do tomorrow.' "But with every letter and question- naire I got, I felt extremely honored that people were thinking about me and decided to reach out. Not a lot of people get to play volleyball or any col- lege sport at the highest level. Just being considered, I was extremely grateful. I never took it for granted, and I still don't." ■ " I knew I wanted to be a part of something big and a part of growing a program into a dynasty. " Brizard Brizard won ACC All-Freshman honors after finishing second on the Wolfpack team with 256 kills from her outside hitter position. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE ATHLETICS