Iowa Hawkeyes2022 Record: 10-21
Conference Record: 4-16 (T-12th)
NCAA Tournament Placement: N/A
Final AVCA Ranking: NR
Head Coach: Jim Barnes (2nd season at Iowa)
Record at Iowa: 10-21
Returning Starters | Departures * - 2022 Starter () - Transfer Destination | New Additions () - Transfer Origin |
Sydney Dennis - R-SO - 5'5 DS/L
Delaney McSweeney - SR - 6'7 MB
Bailey Ortega - SR - 5'9 S
Michelle Urquhart - JR - 6'0 OH | Mari Hinkle* - SR+ - 5'9 DS/L ()
Amiya Jones* - 6'2 MB
Toyosi Onabanjo* - JR - 6'1 MB/RS ()
Edina Schmidt* - 6'3 OH/RS
Lily Tessier* - SR+ - 6'3 S ()
Addie VanderWeide* - JR - 6'0 OH ()
Madi Wahrmund - 6'1 MB
Nia Washington - SO - 5'10 OH () | Caitlan Buettner - SR+ - 6'2 OH ()
Gabby Deery - FR - 6'2 OH
Maddy Hanson - SO - 6'1 MB ()
Emily Lavin - FR - 5'11 OH/DS
Olivia Lombardi - FR - 5'8 DS/L
Kaia Mateo - FR - 5'11 S
Nataly Moravec - SO - 6'2 OH ()
Rosa Vesty - FR - 6'2 MB
Alyssa Worden - FR - 5'11 OH |
2022 Results:The 2022 season ushered in the beginning of the Jim Barnes era. Barnes had most recently spent six years as the head coach of Tulane. He replaced Vicki Brown, who was dismissed from the Iowa program after compiling a 17-56 record in three years as Iowa's leader.
Iowa notched two wins over Gonzaga and Florida International on opening day before falling to Oklahoma in straight sets. The Hawkeyes were then overmatched against Washington and Colorado, yielding a 3-3 record that was on par with early-season expectations.
A solid five-set victory over Wright State got Iowa back above 0.500. It didn't last, however, as the Hawkeyes dropped two in-state battles against Iowa State and Drake.
The last weekend of non-conference play was Iowa's most successful stretch up to that point. Three consecutive sweeps over South Dakota State, North Florida, and eventual Missouri Valley champion Northern Iowa swung the pendulum back toward the win column.
But, we all know the dynamic shifts dramatically when Big Ten play starts. Iowa was not given any favors with its immediate draw of Ohio State and Purdue in late September. The Buckeyes took care of business but Iowa's Sunday match against the Boilermakers was quite competitive. A positive step forward.
And that slugfest with Purdue became an omen for the rest of the season. A prevailing theme emerged: close, but not quite.
Iowa played admirably at Minnesota and managed to steal a set. Then, in a rematch with Purdue, the Hawkeyes pushed the Boilermakers even further and pushed the match to five. Purdue prevailed in the end.
So, the Hawkeyes made a bit of noise in conference play but had an 0-5 record to show for it. Finally, a tight match went Iowa's way as the Hawkeyes took down Indiana in five sets to claim its first Big Ten win under Barnes.
After falling to Wisconsin at home, Iowa had a shot to make a huge splash as it forced a tiebreaker set with 14th-ranked Penn State. Unfortunately, the close call we saw at Purdue materialized again as the Nittany Lions escaped.
The weeks following the Penn State loss were some of the rockiest that Iowa experienced in conference play--or the entire season, really. The glaring setback during that period was a straight-set loss at Rutgers that gave the Scarlet Knights their first Big Ten sweep since 2019 (also against Iowa). Maryland beat Iowa twice, and both matches against Nebraska were never close.
But that losing skid might not be the lasting impression from the season. Iowa needed to find a late surge to get out of the Big Ten basement, and it actually came together nicely. The Hawkeyes got revenge against Rutgers on Nov. 13. Then, the final weekend of the regular season produced two thrilling five-set wins versus Michigan and at Michigan State. It was Iowa's first and only two-match winning streak in conference play. The win against Michigan State brought Iowa into a tie for 12th with...well, Michigan State.
2022 Lineup:Iowa's 2022 lineup continuity might be better than you'd expect from a team that had so many up-and-down moments.
The primary Hawkeye lineup was a 6-2 system featuring Lily Tessier and Bailey Ortega at setter. Ortega was a returning contributor for the Iowa program while Tessier was a portal acquisition from Florida State. Tessier's length allowed her to make some occasional trips across the front row.
Tessier was paired with Toyosi Onabanjo at opposite. Onabanjo also emerged as a frequent serving weapon for the Hawkeyes, giving Tessier more of those brief appearances along the net.
Ortega's 6-2 partner was Edina Schmidt. Schmidt, like Ortega and Onabanjo, stayed with the program through the coaching transition and maintained similar starting roles to the 2021 campaign.
But, without question, the focal point of Iowa's 2022 offense was through the middles. There was a time during the offseason when Amiya Jones was not even slated to be part of the team. She opted to stay for her fifth year, however, and it was a monumental choice. Jones led the entire Hawkeye squad in kills and aces last season from the middle blocker position.
The other primary middle was junior Delaney McSweeney, a six-foot-seven athlete who transferred in from Wake Forest. Her final kill tally ranked third. We got brief looks at Onabanjo in the middle in place of McSweeney, but those are anomalies.
Another transfer loomed large at the outside hitter spot. Michelle Urquhart followed Barnes from Tulane to Coralville and was the only Hawkeye to play in all 113 sets in 2022. She was also the lone Iowa pin hitter who was a six-rotation mainstay for the entire season. Her big role in defense and serve receive was everlasting.
Addie VanderWeide occupied the other left-side hitter spot for most of the year. Her presence in the backcourt was off and on. Freshman Nia Washington earned occasional reps in her place. When VanderWeide was subbed out of the backcourt, Sydney Dennis was usually her DS.
Mari Hinkle had the libero spot locked down when she was healthy. She was seriously underrated and deserved to be in the conversation among her conference counterparts.
Iowa had some situation subs here and there, including Audrey Black at opposite, but this is fairly close to the whole story.
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2023 Projected Lineup:There's a lot to replace here.
A lot.We're venturing into the land of serious unknowns regarding Iowa's 2023 lineup. The transfer portal yielded a net negative with Hinkle, Onabanjo, Tessier, VanderWeide, and Washington all departing for different programs. If you've been somewhat awake up to this point, you know that's four starters and a situational sub. These departures alone would constitute a major transition.
Then, you have to factor in the graduation of Jones and Schmidt. That's two more starters, including your offensive leader and ace factory.
We'll try to offset the doom and gloom with a few returners. Urquhart is back with her six-rotation repertoire, though there are questions about her status with a foot injury. I hate that I even have to qualify a positive with another negative.
Ortega returns at setter. She's experienced but would bring a serious blocking deficit in the front row. You could technically bring back the 6-2, but it would likely thrust true freshman Kaia Mateo into immediate action. Though Ortega brings a bit of continuity at setter, this position is still an area of concern.
Dennis would theoretically be first in line for the libero jersey. We're waiting on someone like Amanda Darling to make an on-court impact at DS. Maybe freshman Olivia Lombardi makes an impact, depending on which system Iowa rolls out.
McSweeney should improve as the team's new featured middle blocker. She likely won't bring the serving impact that Jones offered, but McSweeney's attacking volume will escalate.
We also have Black, who is now a senior. She's not listed as a starter above, but Black could fill a void after being in and out of the Iowa lineup over the past few years. Iowa is in dire need of an opposite with Onabanjo and Schmidt gone.
Now, we get into the newness. While (a healthy) Urquhart should have one left-side hitter spot secured, the other side of the rotation should be the place for Texas State transfer Caitlan Buettner. The fifth-year outside hitter could play in the backcourt, too, especially if the aforementioned defensive specialists aren't ready. Perhaps we'll see BYU transfer Nataly Moravec get some reps.
Iowa has four other middles on the roster alongside McSweeney. Fifth-year senior Jacqlyn Caspers played a few sets in 2022 and could get the nod. Anna Davis was unavailable last year due to injury. Maddy Hanson joins the crew from Denver.
The only other spot left to speculate on is another opposite in the case that the 6-2 is deployed. Moravec might be in this conversation alongside freshmen Gabby Deery and Alyssa Worden. Worden is coming off a knee injury and may be out of that picture in the near term.
2023 Schedule:This year's non-conference slate is a little lighter than 2022's iteration. That's not a huge surprise.
Opening weekend will give us some fascinating early barometers for the Hawkeyes. Iowa is making the hike to the Golden State to face Cal Poly, Nevada, and tournament host Sacramento State. The first match against Cal Poly is especially interesting, and you could either chalk it up as a toss-up or as a slight Mustang advantage. We'll see.
Iowa's home debut will come against Middle Tennessee State, Kent State, and South Dakota State. You'd hope that all of these are wins.
The Hawkeyes then embark on a week with four matches. Fun. It kicks off with the Cy-Hawk series on Sept. 6, and Iowa State will be an appreciable favorite for that one. That leads right into the weekend tripleheader featuring Central Michigan, Missouri State, and Grand Canyon. The Hawkeyes have a great shot in all of those, but CMU and GCU can't be overlooked.
Non-conference play is bookended by a trip east to face Syracuse and Cornell. Syracuse could be somewhat of a test, but the Orange are not what they were a couple of years ago.
It doesn't take a crazy amount of optimism to piece together ten non-conference wins for Iowa this year. That's in spite of all the roster turnover, uncertainties, and inevitable growing pains. Sure, it's a light schedule, but note that ten was 2022's win total. Build some morale.
This is B1G:
2023 Outlook:The rebuild continues. Or, maybe this is just a
build. Iowa hasn't had a non-vacated winning season since 2016.
Iowa heads into 2023 with far less experience than last year's iteration. Returning players from the Brown era were instrumental to the team's best 2022 performances, but almost all of those players are gone.
Last year's four-win total in conference play could have easily been a few more. I think Iowa would be happy to get back to that mark in 2023. It'll be tough. There's a weird dynamic where Iowa's ceiling will probably be lower, but the overall win total might improve year-over-year thanks to a manageable non-conference slate.
The coaches picked Iowa to finish 13th in the Big Ten, and that feels about right. Big picture: find some bright spots and foundational components to build upon for future seasons.