The volleyball team has been the punchline of the joke that has been N.C. State’s fall sports in the last several years. In 2007, all four of the Wolfpack’s major fall sports teams — volleyball, women’s soccer, men’s soccer and football — finished at the bottom of the ACC (football was last in the Atlantic division).
But it has been the volleyball program that has been bad on a historic scale. The team is entering this season riding an incredible 56 match losing streak in conference, and, in the last six seasons, it has only won only one ACC match.
To be fair, Charita Stubbs should not shoulder the blame for many of the statistics I just mentioned. She took over as coach in 2006 — after State’s current losing streak began.
Stubbs inherited the task of turning around a program that hasn’t seen a winning season since 1996, which is not something that happens overnight.
But now Stubbs is entering her third year as coach, after going 5-58 in her first two seasons. While it is unfair to judge a coach after just one or two years with a college program, 2008 should give us an idea of whether Stubbs is the one who will make N.C. State a presence in ACC volleyball.
But there are some serious questions. Stubbs has had a big problem with retention. She lost six players who had eligibility remaining between the beginning of last season and the start of 2008. The most noteworthy loss was Lauren Zaniboni, who, in her freshman year, led the team in kills.
If the Pack is ever going to climb out of the cellar, Zaniboni is exactly the type of player who will get it there. While the departure of players who are not succeeding is common, losing Zaniboni, who would have likely evolved into an All-ACC type player, is worrisome.
On Aug. 19, Stubbs announced that sophomore Alex Smith and junior Arlee Tamietti, who transferred after two years at Boise State, were to be the captains for 2008. I have no doubt that Smith and Tamietti are dedicated, capable leaders, but what kind of message does promoting a junior who just joined the program and a sophomore send to the rest of the team?
How is junior Chrissy Zirpolo, who earned a starting spot her freshman year, going to defer to someone who just joined the program?
At least for now, we should give coach Stubbs the benefit of the doubt. Maybe her tough style is exactly what is needed to reverse the culture of losing that has existed in the volleyball program for over a decade.
But State cannot go through its third consecutive season without a conference win. It’s embarrassing to the University, and if history has told us anything, it is that Wolfpack fans are not very patient.
