The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/862569
SEPTEMBER 2017 ■ 71 many options and convincing her players of their potential. "The hardest part of this is not [me] un- derstanding how good they could be, but for them to understand that because they've never been there before," she noted. "That, I think, is the hardest part to communicate, and then what it takes to stay there." Bailey could help her teammates under- stand. "I am so impressed with the team," she said. "They could compete in the Pac-12 and in the tournament. I have gone to the tournament all three years, and these girls, this team, this year 100 percent has a chance to make the tournament." A rigorous schedule that includes four non-conference games against teams ranked in the preseason top 25 should help Hamp- ton-Keith get her point across. "I think it's what this team needed," the coach said. "I think at the core of it, it is the right thing to do because if we want this program to be where we want it to be — and I know that it can be — then we have to go and play those matches." ■ Securities offered through Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment advisory services offered through Raymond James Financial Services Advisors, Inc. Olde Raleigh Financial Group is not a registered broker/dealer, and is independent of Raymond James Financial Services. 17-BR8HO-0014 TA 4/17 F I N A N C I A L G R O U P Proud supporter of NC State Wolfpack Club TREVOR CHAMBERS Financial Advisor ALEX MIHAJLOV Branch Manager KATHY DUCKWORTH Registered Sales Assistant BLAKE PARO Financial Advisor NCSU Class of 2003 3110 Edwards Mill Road, Suite 340 Raleigh, NC 27612 T 919.861.8212 www.olderaleighfinancial.com GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER GETTING TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER ■ Key Games • Kansas and Missouri State, Aug. 25-26: During its opening weekend, the Pack will play the Jayhawks, who were rated as high as No. 4 last season and were No. 8 in this year's preseason poll, while also matching up against the Bears, the reigning Missouri Valley Confer- ence champions. • No. 11 North Carolina, Sept. 22: The Tar Heels are the consensus preseason ACC favorite and will serve as the Pack's conference opener. The game will be played in Reynolds Coliseum. • Georgia Tech, Nov. 11: Six influential seniors will be finishing their careers in the final home game before the Pack closes the regular season with four road matches. Noting The Pack • Senior outside hitters Julia Brown and Bree Bailey were both picked preseason first-team All- ACC by the league's office. Brown was third in the ACC last season with 489 kills, a new rally-scoring era program record for a single season. Bailey, who was honorable mention All-Pac-12 in 2015, had 288 kills, second most on the Arizona State squad. Overall, NC State was picked to finish fifth in the ACC. • Bailey said that her father, former Pack bas- ketball great Thurl Bailey, plans to attend all of her home games at Reynolds Coliseum, the venue he played hoops at for the Pack. "It's kind of surreal just to see his picture and stuff. People coming to talk to me about it made me realize that team was a big deal," Bailey said. • NC State had coach Linda Hampton-Keith got her first job as an assistant coaching for Dulcie "Cookie" Stevens at FIU. Now Stevens will be Hampton-Keith's assistant, joining the staff this summer after spending 10 years as an assistant at Southern Cal and helping the Trojans reach the Final Four three times during that stretch.