The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1493632
20 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER ne of the fastest-growing sports in the United States is volleyball, especially on the women's side. More girls are playing the sport than any other in the country at the youth level according to the latest par- ticipation data. And few sports in the ACC are growing as fast as women's volleyball. This past year, two teams from the league — Lou- isville and Pittsburgh — reached the Fi- nal Four. In addition, Georgia Tech spent much of the season ranked in the top 10. NC State has a gold-medal winning head coach leading its program. Luka Slabe was an assistant on the American team that captured the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. In three years at the helm of the Wolf- pack, Slabe has NC State knocking on the door of the NCAA Tournament. The Pack went 10-8 in the ACC a year ago. Slabe has grand visions for the program. He wants the Pack to be a dominant force in the Carolinas and Virginia on the re- cruiting trail and not just reach the NCAA Tournament but become a contender. "We're not here to survive, we're here to do bigger things that maybe nobody else expects from us," Slabe said. "That's why they brought me here." However, he noted, "I cannot do that alone. … I have a really good staff. I have a good support staff, but I also need other things to function properly to have that success." The Wolfpack Club is aiming to in- crease awareness of how fans of NC State volleyball and other sports on campus can do just that. "We want to make it really clear to everybody that if they have a particu- lar sport that they really are passionate about, there's a way to impact their bud- get immediately," Wolfpack Club associ- ate executive director Buzzy Correll said. Emily Wayland, director of annual giving for the Wolfpack Club, noted that gifts help supplement what NC State is able to do for its teams. "For every sport, you have your op- erating budget, and then sport-specific donations help above and beyond that," Wayland said. "A lot of teams are look- ing at new equipment, or they're look- ing at a travel training trip. "This is the kind of stuff we can help pay for." In the case of volleyball, a few extra dollars for Slabe can go a long way. "There are so many ways we can up- grade the well-being of our student- athletes," Slabe noted, listing medical and training equipment, improved trav- eling arrangements and potentially a foreign trip experience for his team. There are also still upgrades to Reyn- olds Coliseum that could help. "Reynolds is one of the best facili- ties when it comes to volleyball, when you look at it from the ground level up," Slabe pointed out. He added, however, that there are ar- eas spectators don't see that could use improvements. "Go downstairs," he said. "Our locker room, we don't have a toilet and we don't have a shower." Slabe recalled when he was at BYU, a donor wrote a $1 million check that boosted the Cougars' program and pro- vided for new offices and team rooms. Slabe has worked overtime at NC State to help build a tight-knit commu- nity of volleyball alums and support- ive fans. An alumni weekend is already booked for the fall. A newsletter is sent out on the 15th of every month. There are occasional happy hours, including one during the middle of February. "We have an open-door policy where people can come watch us train," Slabe O " I have a really good staff. I have a good support staff, but I also need other things to function properly to have that success. " Luka Slabe HELP THE PACK Specific-Sports Giving Is A Way To Improve Teams' Budgets