VB Notebook: at Cardinal & Gold Challenge

OPPONENT Iowa (2-3, 0-0) vs. Wright State (5-0, 0-0)
LOCATION Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum)
DATE Friday, Sept. 9
FIRST SERVE 11 a.m. (CT)

 

OPPONENT Iowa (2-3, 0-0) at Iowa State (2-4, 0-0)
LOCATION Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum)
DATE Friday, Sept. 9
FIRST SERVE 6:30 p.m. (CT)

 

OPPONENT Iowa (2-3, 0-0) vs. Drake (5-1, 0-0)
LOCATION Ames, Iowa (Hilton Coliseum)
DATE Saturday, Sept. 10
FIRST SERVE 2 p.m. (CT)

The Setting

University of Iowa volleyball heads to Ames, Iowa, for the Cardinal & Gold Challenge. The Hawkeyes face Wright State on Friday at 11 a.m. (CT) and Iowa State at 6:30 p.m. (CT). The Hawkeyes then take on Drake on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. (CT) at Hilton Coliseum.

 

Live stats for each contest can be found on the team’s schedule page at hawkeyesports.com.

 

TV: All three matches will be streamed on ESPN+ (subscription required).

SCOUTING WRIGHT STATE

  • Travers Green enters his first season as head coach of the Raiders, coming from Mississippi State as an associate head coach.
  • Wright State’s five wins on the season include Evansville, Marshall, North Dakota, Western Michigan and Indiana State.
  • Senior right-side hitter Callie Martin leads the team with 66 kills.
  • Graduate student setter Lainey Stephenson leads the squad in assists with 183.
  • Graduate student libero Jenna Story leads the pack with 111 digs.

SCOUTING IOWA STATE

  • Christy Johnson-Lynch enters her 18th season at the helm of the Cyclones, leading the squad to the NCAA Tournament in 14 of her 17 seasons.
  • The Cyclones wins come from Wyoming and Troy, their losses coming from Creighton, Wichita State, Penn State and LSU.
  • Senior outside hitter and right side Eleanor Holthaus leads the team in kills with 82.
  • Senior setter Jaden Newsome leads the squad in assists with 221.
  • Sophomore defensive specialist and outside hitter Brooke Stonestreet leads the Cyclones in digs with 83.

SCOUTING DRAKE

  • Darrin McBroom enters his tenth season at the helm of the Bulldogs. 
  • The Bulldogs won five matches over CSUN, Texas A&M- Commerce, Montana, IUPUI and Saint Francis. Their loss comes from Air Force.
  • Graduate student outside hitter Mariana Rodrigues leads the team in kills with 95.
  • Freshman setter Addison Beagle leads the squad in assists with 227.
  • Junior libero Jada Wills leads in digs with 88.

THE IOWA CORN CY-HAWK SERIES

  • The Cy-Hawk Series is in its 18th season in 2022-23, being sponsored for the 11th year by Iowa Corn.
  • Iowa’s corn farmers are proud to sponsor the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series to celebrate our great state and the sports rivalry that unites us all. The Iowa Corn Growers Association and the Iowa Corn Promotion Board partner with Learfield on behalf of both Iowa State University and University of Iowa Athletic Departments for the title sponsorship of the Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series.
  • The Iowa Corn Cy-Hawk Series tracks the head-to-head match-ups between the Cyclones and Hawkeyes with each victory earning points toward the overall series championship.
  • The series awards two points (except football, which is worth three) to the winning school in each head-to-head match-up between the two institutions. Additionally, one point is awarded to an institution if the graduation rate of its student-athletes is greater than the national average as reported each fall by the NCAA.

TRANSFERS

  • The Hawkeyes added nine student-athletes to the team this season, including seven transfers and two freshmen.
  • Delaney McSweeney 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 is a 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 is a graduate student. Wahrmund calls Fredericksburg, Texas, home.

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. 
  • Onabanjo opened the 2022 season at the Oklahoma Invitational with 26 kills with a hitting percentage of .308, notching 10 blocking assists and five solo blocks.
  • VanderWeide started out the 2022 season at the Oklahoma Invitational with 13 kills and 22 digs.

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.