CORALVILLE — Last week, Jim Barnes said this year’s Iowa volleyball team could be the best team in the last 30 years. As of Tuesday, he has a reasonable claim at 20.
The Iowa volleyball team rounded out its 2026 nonconference schedule against Milwaukee at Xtream Arena in Coralville on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Hawkeyes won 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17).
The Hawkeyes downed Milwaukee 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17) to finish nonconference play 11-3. The 11 nonconference wins are Iowa's most on the books since 2006. Iowa also won 11 in 2017, but those victories were later vacated.
“This team has gotten better each week — like we knew they would,” Barnes said. “… Just to watch them come together and build on it, it’s been big. The team has mentally really grown so much, and we’ll be ready for the Big Ten.”
It was not smooth sailing for the Hawkeyes to reach their milestone victory.
Iowa struggled in the first set, allowing the Panthers to hit .429 before holding them to a .147 percentage in the final three sets to claim the win. Fourth-year middle hitter Hannah Whittingstall said Barnes’ message following the first set was simple after harping on defense throughout the first month of the season.
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“Just get more blocks,” Whittingstall said. “We needed to do a better job, and I think we responded really well and did it.”
The Hawkeyes recorded 13 team blocks over the final three sets of the contest to finish with 18.
Whittingstall, who finished second on the team with 15 kills, said she also saw the achievement as a sign of growth in the program.
“It’s just exciting to see us grow throughout the years,” Whittingstall said. “I really do have a lot of trust and love for this team that we have right now, and I think we can carry on those wins hopefully to conference play this week.”
The Iowa volleyball team rounded out its 2026 nonconference schedule against Milwaukee at Xtream Arena in Coralville on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Hawkeyes won 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17).
Barnes also predicted a winning streak last week. Iowa has since won four more to extend its streak to five.
“I told them we’re going to go on this run,” Barnes said. “We’re in the middle of that run and we want to continue it, and continue to believe in what we’re doing. It doesn’t matter who’s the opponent over there, if it’s Big Ten or whatever, we keep playing our game.
“… It’s Big Ten time, and best team in 20 years. Let’s see if we can continue to build on it.”
And Barnes believes the Hawkeyes have all the tools to carry their winning ways into Big Ten play this weekend.
“The focus level is there, the motivation is there,” Barnes said. “They’re trying to prove themselves, and they’re ready for it.”
Ultimately, Barnes said success in conference play, which has eluded Iowa over the previous four seasons with a 14-66 Big Ten record, comes down to putting his players in positions to succeed.
He thinks Georgia Tech transfer middle hitter Liv Mogridge exemplifies this notion best.
On Tuesday, she paced the Hawkeyes’ offense with 16 kills while hitting an efficient .565. The performance demonstrated exactly what Iowa has unlocked in the fifth-year middle, who only reached double-digit kills seven times in her prior four seasons. She’s already recorded more than 10 in nine matches this year.
“Use her strengths, put her in good positions to score and stop people, and just keep believing in what we’re doing,” Barnes said. “We do it a little different here, and that’s part of why middles want to come here and Liv wanted to come here, and now she’s seeing firsthand that she’s getting more kills than she ever has, and she can be a big difference — not just with her kills, but with her presence on this team.”
The Iowa volleyball team rounded out its 2026 nonconference schedule against Milwaukee at Xtream Arena in Coralville on Tuesday, Sept. 22. The Hawkeyes won 3-1 (22-25, 25-20, 25-22, 25-17).
Through 13 matches, Mogridge leads all Big Ten middles in kills with 144 successful attacks on a .355 hitting percentage.
Mogridge said she’s excited to show what she can do in a full Big Ten schedule, too.
“I’ve always had a Big Ten weekend,” Mogridge said. “I’ve never had a Big Ten season, so we’re all very excited to get to this together.
“… The ACC is known for being very fast and a little bit smaller in some respects. So I’m really excited to just play with the big girls, the Big Ten, the people we always looked forward to in our non-con. It’ll be good.”
With Mogridge as an example of Iowa at its best, Barnes said his team enters conference play with plenty of momentum and confidence.
“Momentum's big in this game, and more importantly, confidence,” Barnes said. “We've built some up. So I think we'll be ready for those battles, those close two-point sets that we're about to face. And we need to win the ones at home. Our team will be ready. I hope the Hawk fans come and get behind this team and help us get those two points.”
“I'm really grateful for the 197 that showed up tonight. They cheered their tails off. Hopefully when we get into conference play on Friday, we can do a little better than that.”
Big Ten action begins this weekend with Ohio State (7-3) and Rutgers (9-3) headed to Iowa City. The Hawkeyes host the Buckeyes at 6 p.m. on Friday and the Scarlet Knights at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Both matches will stream on Big Ten+ and air on the Hawkeye Radio Network.
Ethan Petrik is a University of Iowa beat writer for the Lee Enterprises network. Follow him on X or send him an email at ethan.petrik@wcfcourier.com.
