| OPPONENT | Iowa (2-1, 0-0) vs. #14 Washington (1-1, 0-0) |
| LOCATION | Boulder, Colo. (CU Events Center) |
| DATE | Saturday, Sept. 3 |
| FIRST SERVE | 1 p.m. (CT) |
| OPPONENT | Iowa (2-1, 0-0) at Colorado (3-0, 0-0) |
| LOCATION | Boulder, Colo. (CU Events Center) |
| DATE | Sunday, Sept. 4 |
| FIRST SERVE | 2:30 p.m. (CT) |
The Setting
University of Iowa volleyball heads to Boulder, Colorado, for the PAC-12/Big Ten Challenge. The Hawkeyes face No. 14 Washington on Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT) and Colorado on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (CT) at the CU Events Center.
Live stats for each contest can be found on the team’s schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.
TV: Both matches will be streamed on PAC-12 Network (subscription required).
SCOUTING WASHINGTON
- Keegan Cook enters his seventh season as head coach of the Huskies, winning four PAC-12 Championships.
- The Huskies opened their season going 1-1 with Arkansas, winning, 3-1, and losing, 1-3.
- Senior outside hitter Claire Hoffman leads the team with 32 kills.
- Senior setter Ella May Powell leads the squad in assists with 95 and in digs with 28.
- Washington traveled to Europe over the summer and played in five matches against teams from Slovenia, Italy and France.
- The Huskies are ranked 14th in the this week’s Top-25.
SCOUTING COLORADO
- Jesse Mahoney enters his seventh season at the helm of the Buffaloes. Last season Mahoney set a school record by opening the season 9-0.
- The Buffaloes opened their season 3-0, winning in three against Green Bay, 3-1, against Western Michigan, and 3-2, against Denver.
- Graduate Student outside hitter Lexi Hadrych leads the team in kills with 43.
- Sophomore setterTaylor Simpson leads the squad in assists with 114.
- Senior libero Katie Lougeay leads the Buffs in digs with 38.
- RS Junior middle blocker Alexia Kuehl was named PAC-12 Defensive Player of The Week on August 29th, registering 22 blocks in their opening tournament.
TRANSFERS
- The Hawkeyes added nine student-athletes to the team this season, including seven transfers and two freshmen.
- Delaney McSweeny comes home to Iowa from Wake Forest. The 6-7 middle hitter is a junior from Center Point, Iowa.
- Jacqlyn Caspers is also coming home to Iowa from Kent State. The redshirt senior stands at 6-5 as a middle hitter and is originally from Swaledale, Iowa.
- Lily Tessier joins the squad from Florida State. Tessier stands at 6-3 as a setter, classifying as a redshirt senior. Tessier calls Fort Meyers, Florida, home.
- Anna Davis comes to the Hawkeyes with Coach Barnes from Tulane. Davis, a 6-1 middle hitter is entering her junior year. Davis hails from Castle Rock, Colorado.
- Michelle Urquhart joins Iowa alongside Davis and Coach Barnes from Tulane. The 6 foot outside hitter will be an incoming sophomore, hailing from Virginia Beach, Virginia.
- Amanda Darling transferred into Iowa from Niagara. The junior is a 5-3 libero from Oswego, Illinois.
- Madi Wahrmund steps into Iowa from Lafayette. The middle hitter stands at 6-1 and will be a graduate student. Wahrmund calls Fredericksburg, Texas, home.
MICKEY’S BREAKOUT OPENER
- Sophomore Michelle Urquhart, an outside hitter transferring in from Tulane, recorded back-to-back double-doubles against Gonzaga and Florida International on Friday at the Oklahoma Invitational.
- Urquhart tallied 17 kills (.424) and 10 digs against Gonzaga before notching 10 kills and 12 digs against Florida International.
- In her freshman season at Tulane, Urquhart recorded 341 kills, placing her with the second most kills on the roster and the 12th most in the AAC.
- Urquhart finished her freshman season with 235 digs and six double-doubles.
SETTER SPOTLIGHT
- Redshirt senior Lily Tessier, a 6-3 setter, spent four seasons with the Florida State Seminoles before entering the transfer portal.
- “Lily is an elite level, experienced setter,” said Coach Barnes. “She is a great communicator, teammate, and leader as well. Here ability to run the offense from well above the net will make her one of the most feared setters in the Big Ten.”
- A Fort Myers, Florida, native, Tessier appeared in 73 matches for Florida State totaling 1,765 assists (7.29 per set).
- She has 36 career aces and 464 digs.
- Tessier ranks 11th all-time at FSU in assists per set and 14th in career assists.
- She is a three-time ACC Academic Honor Roll selection.
- Tessier was a four-year starter at Evangelical Christian High School. In 336 career sets, she recorded 185 aces, 600 digs, 376 kills, and 2,282 assists (6.8 per set).
- She was named to the 2014 AAU All-American Team and the 2015 News-Press All-Area second team.
- Tessier was named a finalist for the 2016 New-Press All-Area Volleyball Player of the Year award.
SOPHOMORE SPOTLIGHT
- Sophomore Addie VanderWeide made 27 consecutive starts to end her freshman season and recorded 12 double-digit kill matches.
- VanderWeide recorded a career-high .471 hitting percentage against No. 11 Washington and career high and team-leading 23 digs against Ball State.
- Sophomore Toyosi Onabanjo made her first two starts in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament.
- Onabanjo recorded five kills and four blocks in both matches.
XTREAM HOME MAKEOVER
- The Hawkeyes finally welcomed fans to Xtream Arena for the first time as they faced Syracuse in the Cy-Hawk Series Tournament on Sept. 9, 2021.
- The Hawkeyes ranked 30th in the nation in attendance last season.
JIM BARNES NAMED HEAD COACH
- The University of Iowa Athletics Department announced on Dec. 28, the hiring of Jim Barnes as the new head coach of the Hawkeye volleyball program. Barnes is the 11th head coach of the program.
- In his 24 years as a head coach, Barnes has a career record of 455-345 (.569), and nine 20-plus win seasons. He has put together six top-20 recruiting classes and made four appearances in postseason tournaments, including a program first NCAA Sweet 16 run.
- Barnes arrives in Iowa City after spending six seasons (2016-21) as head coach of Tulane volleyball program. Before Tulane, Barnes spent 11 seasons as the head coach at Baylor (2004-15), and two seasons at Wyoming (2002-04). Barnes was the head coach at Lamar from 1996-200. Barnes got his coaching start at his alma mater of McNeese State, where he spent six years as an assistant coach.