The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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starter in her first three seasons, Salata improved dramatically in her final cam- paign, particularly in her play at the net with sophomore middle blocker Brie Mer- riwether. Salata finished her senior season with 155 total blocks, the second-highest single-season total in school history. She also finished with an impressive .433 hit- ting average for the season. More importantly, the quartet of seniors and steady junior setter Megan Cyr pro- vided leadership for a team dominated by young players. Bunn brought in a large number of newcomers for his second sea- son, with 11 freshmen and transfers on a roster of 19 players. He brought in three outside hitters — Dariyan Hopper of Minooka, Ill., Nicole Glass of Colorado Springs, Colo., and Ra- chel Buckley of Carrollton, Texas — to give his team a stronger outside attack. He also developed a couple of local players who were recruited to help along the back line, Alston Kearns of Apex and Hannah Thompson of Henderson. Kearns, who had originally committed to Tennessee before choosing to play for the Wolfpack, started most of the Wolfpack's 33 matches. She and junior Alexa Micek rotated with Wood along the back line. Other young players who saw significant playing time included sophomore middle blocker Meredith Richardson, freshman outside hitter Laura Blab and freshman middle blocker Alesha Wilson. This fall, while playing in four early- season tournaments, the team put together a 13-game winning streak, which broke the school record of 12 that was set by NC State's 1987 ACC championship team. By the time the ACC season started, Bunn had several rotations he was comfortable with. Perhaps the biggest obstacle the coach had to overcome was teaching his team to win, something that became apparent early in the ACC season when the Wolf- pack strung together an ACC-record six consecutive five-set matches. The Pack won only one of those six, but came away with the knowledge it could compete with the best teams in the league and the na- tion, since both Miami and Florida State were ranked in the top 25 when the Pack dropped narrow five-set losses to both at Reynolds Coliseum. After losing a 3-1 decision to Virginia in mid-October in Reynolds, the Pack finished the season strong, winning six of its final 11 matches, all against ACC foes. Bunn's squad ended the program's 27-match los- ing streak to Clemson, won more ACC road games than any team in school history and brought its seniors to tears while they 50 ■ THE WOLFPACKER Senior outside hitter Luciana Shafer was a big part of the Wolfpack's success the past two years after transferring in from UNC Greensboro. PHOTO COURTESY NC STATE MEDIA RELATIONS reflected on just how far the program had advanced since their arrival. "We've come so far," Wood said near the end of the season. "We deserved getting to that point so much, after all we have been through during our careers and all that oth- ers had been through before us." Bunn was pleased with his team's prog- ress, though not as surprised as some of his colleagues among ACC coaches. He was more disappointed that several potential victories slipped through his team's fingers, while it learned how to finish off matches. He has also let everyone in the program know that the bar that has been historically low for the volleyball program is steadily on the rise. "This past season was a fun ride," the coach said. "We had some success, but we still have a long way to go. We are still making progress as a program. "Last year, we had four ACC wins. This year we had eight. I guess next year we will be looking to get 16." ■ You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.