NC State volleyball head coach Luka Slabe released the 29-game schedule for the fall Wednesday afternoon.

The Pack will open the season on Aug. 25 at the Utah Valley Invitational, where they will face Utah twice and Utah Valley once.

The Wolfpack will host the Summit Hospitality Group Open for week two of the season. Visiting Reynolds Coliseum will be Howard, Rutgers, and Winthrop.

The final tournament of the non-conference schedule will take place at Ohio University for the Bobcat Invitational starting Sept. 8. After facing William & Mary, the Pack will take on the host, Ohio, and UTEP.

For the final two non-conference matches of the season, NC State will host Charlotte and George Washington the week of Sept. 12.

Atlantic Coast Conference play will begin on Sept. 22 at Clemson and then Georgia Tech on Sept. 24, the first of five conference road trips for the Pack. Also facing the Pack will also take on Miami, Florida State, Duke, UNC, Boston College, VIrginia Tech, and Virginia on the road.

In conference action, the Pack will play home-and-home matches against Notre Dame, Louisville, Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, Pitt, Virginia, Boston College, Syracuse, and Clemson.

Season tickets for the 2023 volleyball season are on sale now and can be purchased at GoPack.com/BuyTickets. All dates and times are subject to change. The time of each match is in EST. For the complete schedule, visit GoPack.com.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/7/5/womens-volleyball-volleyball-announced-2023-schedule

New Year, New Gear🔥

S/O to our equipment staff for always taking care of us! #TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/KPQmZC07l4

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 7, 2023

The perfect end to Report Day🫶🏼

HUGE thank you to the Barnhill, Withers, and Hensley families for having us for dinner last night! #TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/IrKFSIut2V

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 8, 2023

Day One.#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/dVFyRwKcFM

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 8, 2023

𝘽𝙧𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙉𝙚𝙬.#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/HfxWWWLgtV

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 11, 2023

𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐥 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐬𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐝!

🗓️ August 18
⏰ 3pm
📍 Reynolds Coliseum
🆚 Coastal Carolina
🎟️ FREE pic.twitter.com/iCcu8MYdz0

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 11, 2023

𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗣𝗮𝗰𝗸😎

Join us Saturday on the beach courts at Owen/Tucker Hall at 6pm to hang with us and play a bit of volleyball! #TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/0b9FKCcitO

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 17, 2023

Due to a scheduling conflict, we are unable to host Chill with the Pack (Saturday)

Due to a scheduling conflict, we are unable to host Chill with the Pack tomorrow.

Feel free to join us at 3pm today in Reynolds to see us take on Coastal Carolina in an exhibition match. https://t.co/DoEUPMnK1N

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 18, 2023

Wolfpack volleyball ready to dial-in after 3-1 exhibition win against Coastal Carolina

NC State women's volleyball showed out on the court for the first time this season, defeating Coastal Carolina 3-1 in a pre-season exhibition game.

While move-in was happening around campus, the red-and-white looked to make a move into the win column at Reynolds Coliseum. Despite not playing since the spring, the team looked ready to take on any opponent that came its way. The young and determined women showed off some potential talent throughout the match, especially when it came to defense.

The starting lineup consisted of returning stars, highlighted by the presence of graduate setter Kristen McDaniel and sophomore outside hitter Ava Brizard, but throughout the game many new players were subbed in and got a chance to show off their skills.

Freshman outside hitter Clara Vondran got many chances to show off her budding talent as she helped the team in both offense and defense. The Ohio native will be looking to make her mark both on the court, and in the locker room.

"It's a new team," McDaniel said."We've graduated a lot of people. So it's nice to see how well our team can work together and fit together. I really liked seeing our freshman, Clara, step up, she did a really good job. I know it's very nerve-wracking to be playing in your first collegiate game, but I think she did really well."

The first set saw the offense hitting wide and out of the court, but the red-and-white's defense was on top of its game. Making sure to press up at the net, NC State was able to block well, making sure it sent the ball right back over the net to the Chanticleers. Brizard and Junior opposite hitter Amanda Rice look like they never took a day off as they were able to start swinging right out of the gates to snag some points for the Pack.

"What I liked a lot was our transition attacks," said head coach Luka Slabe. "We were very efficient. We were able to break down their defense and blocking defense so we rarely had more than one blocker in front of us against our attackers, so we got a lot of open swings from that."

During the second set, the defense slowly slipped away and the offense couldn't keep the points going as Coastal took the set. The communication from the team was crucial, though, as they were able to keep up with each other and any scrappy rallies. Words of encouragement from both teammates and the coaching staff played a large part in keeping morale high.

"As a coach, it's so easy to find all the things that your team is doing wrong," Slabe said. "It's just in our nature, we are always trying to get better and you're always trying to fix errors. We often forget about just talking about things that we did well…you also promote learning and what was done well and what needs to happen down the road."

The Wolfpack was able to snag the third and fourth sets after struggling to start both in the serve and receive game. The front row showed off its blocking skills once again in both of these sets. Offensively, the Pack was swinging hard in all the moments where it mattered and helped the team battle back when it went down in points.

Looking ahead to the season, the Wolfpack needs to ensure it has everything in its back pocket working in tandem. As the red-and-white heads out to Utah for its first invitational of the season, there are many things that need to be taken care of.

"It's high elevation," Slabe said. "It's very dry and it's completely different from what we have here. All the challenges [that] can be out there, they're going to be there. I think, as always, we take that as an opportunity. It's a tough trip and you need to bring home some wins to validate the work that we put in throughout the summer and this early fall. The season's preseason sets up your postseason as well."

Up next, NC State will take on Utah Valley in the Utah Valley Invitational on Friday, Aug. 25th.

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-ready-to-dial-in-after-3-1-exhibition-win-against-coastal-carolina/article_18b0fa0c-3e1b-11ee-9a6e-53b10a76b227.html

Wolfpack volleyball strives for excellence ahead of 2023 season

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-strives-for-excellence-ahead-of-2023-season/article_779c5028-3e2c-11ee-8f67-8307016bd982.html

This season, the women's volleyball team is focused on three words: "the one percent." For Slabe, it is a phrase of warning and expectations.

"When it comes to going to the tournament, winning or losing, it comes down to one percent," Slabe said. "More than 30% of all sets in the NCAA Tournament last year were won by no more than two points, and we lost and won games last year by those one or two touches. While that one percent might be small in the grand scale of the season, it means everything."

Brizard considers the phrase an expression of gratitude and excellence.

"For me, being the one percent means I get to do this for all the girls that are looking up to me that want to play college volleyball, all the girls that have ever aspired to play college volleyball, and then for all the women that have played college volleyball and set the stage for me and my teammates to come and have this opportunity," Brizard said.

We are 8th in preseason ACC poll

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘾𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚𝙣 𝙊𝙣𝙚𝙨.#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/46ku1KMOtD

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 23, 2023

\The NC State volleyball team is set to open the season out west at the Utah Valley Invitational on Friday Aug. 25. The Pack will face host Utah Valley on both Friday and Saturday, before facing Pac 12 opponent Utah.

The Match Up

• The meeting with Wolverines will be the second in program history and first since 2018
• UVU topped the Pack 3-2 in Raleigh
• The last time the Pack had a meeting with the Utes was 24 years ago in Lubbock, Texas
• Utah defeated NC State, 3-1 in 1999

https://gopack.com/news/2023/8/23/womens-volleyball-volleyball-set-to-open-season-in-utah

Utah Valley wins set 1 25-21

NC State wins set 2
25-15
match tied 1-1

NC State wins set 3
25-20
NC State leads match 2-1

NC State wins set 4
25-12
NC State wins match 3-1

The NC State volleyball team opened the season with a convincing 3-1 win over Utah Valley in game one of the Utah Valley Invitational.

Freshman Clara Vondran led the Pack with 16 kills with a .412 hitting percentage and three service aces in her collegiate debut. Sophomore Ava Brizard added 15 kills in addition to three aces.

The Wolverines took set one, but the Pack bounced back in set two by taking eight consecutive points. Senior libero Skye Stokes was behind the service line for seven of the eight points. The Wolfpack took set two after Utah Valley was called for four touches.

Set three was a back-and-forth battle between the two teams, with neither leading by more than two points at a time. The Wolfpack came out on top after a wild play on set point ended with a kill by Stokes.

NC State jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the final set after back-to-back attack errors by the Wolverines. The Pack took six straight points to jump out to a 21-9 lead. Vondran recorded two service aces while junior Amanda Rice tallied three kills to help the Pack build the lead.

The win was the second in a season opener under head coach Luka Slabe.

NEXT UP
The Pack returns to Rebecca D. Lockhart Arena on Saturday Aug. 26 to take on Utah at 2pm and Utah Valley again at 8pm.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/8/25/womens-volleyball-pack-wins-season-opener-over-utah-valley

Wolfpack volleyball starts the season off with 3-1 victory
https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/wolfpack-volleyball-starts-the-season-off-with-3-1-victory/article_6cc6f02c-43ae-11ee-81c5-9bf05e527347.html

𝘿𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙃𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝘿𝙖𝙮 𝙏𝙬𝙤

🆚 Utah (RV) | Utah Valley
📍 Orem, Utah
⏰ 2pm ET | 8pm ET
🖥️ https://t.co/s5DC95uFkg | https://t.co/Rlq7owxbgj
📊 https://t.co/oPPDyThDSm pic.twitter.com/gi1JdelB20

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 26, 2023

THIS RALLY😱

We see you @ava_brizard !#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/NlUnTdjmGc

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 25, 2023

MADISON WILLIAMS IS ON 🔥!#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/HksuOwKV7X

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 25, 2023

Makin' moves!!

Clara records her fourth kill of the set#TheOnePercent pic.twitter.com/yM6BzuQ6jr

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 25, 2023

Amanda and Jada with a HUGE block to get us going! pic.twitter.com/l9L9DmaBG5

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 25, 2023

Utah wins set 1, 26-24

set 2
Utah wins 25-22

Utah leads match 2-0

set 3
Utah wins 25-18

Utah wins match 3-0

Tough battle this afternoon, but our focus shifts to game two. pic.twitter.com/l206DJlqbJ

— Wolfpack Volleyball (@PackVball) August 26, 2023

NC State volleyball suffers first loss of 2023 season against Utah

https://www.technicianonline.com/sports/nc-state-volleyball-suffers-first-loss-of-2023-season-against-utah/article_fade567c-4460-11ee-a95b-830e06250359.html

Despite a tough battle, the Wolfpack (1-1) fell to Pac 12 foe Utah (1-1) in straight sets Saturday afternoon.

NC State struggled to gain momentum to start off, but took the lead toward the end of set one. The Utes scored three straight points to end the set 26-24.

The Pack took an early lead in set two, but the Utes tied it up forcing a back-and-forth battle.

Utah capitalized on errors made by the Wolfpack in set three, allowing them to take a 20-9 lead. The Pack started to gain momentum after multiple service errors by the Utes, but were unable to gain the lead.

Madison Williams led the Pack with 10 kills while Ava Brizard and Amanda Rice added nine. Junior Jada Allen led defensively with four blocks and added five kills to her stat line.

NEXT UP
The Pack returns to Rebecca Lockhart Arena at 8pm ET Saturday evening to face host Utah Valley for the final game of the Utah Valley Invitational.

https://gopack.com/news/2023/8/26/womens-volleyball-pack-falls-to-utes-in-straight-sets

Watched the 1st 2 matches and the first game of this match so far. This team just doesn't look good. Bad passing, bad sets, lots of missed serves, dinks that aren't covered and free balls that no one takes. I hope it gets better or we could be in for a long year.

set one
Utah Valley wins
25-22

set 2
Utah Valley wins
25-20
Utah Valley leads match 2-0

set 3
NC State wins
25-19
Utah Valley leads match 2-1

set 4
NC State wins 25-17
match tied 2-2