IOWA CITY — Iowa volleyball picked up its biggest win under head coach Jim Barnes when it downed Iowa State last Tuesday. Officially, 4,665 fans packed into Hilton Coliseum’s lower bowl to watch the Hawkeyes sweep the Cyclones 3-0 (25-20, 25-21, 25-23).
Iowa and Iowa State faced off in an NCAA volleyball match at Hilton Coliseum in Ames on Tuesday, Sept. 8. Officially, 4,665 people attended the match and watched as the Hawkeyes secured a 3-0 win for their first victory in Ames since 1997.
Iowa felt the energy in Ames. It did not go unnoticed.
"We were just angry that people yelled some stuff to us," second-year outside hitter Carmel Vares said following the match. "We just got more energy from the crowd being so loud."
Then, Iowa returned home after a grueling six-game road stretch to little fanfare at Xtream Arena for the Hawkeye Invitational this weekend.
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Coming off the momentum-building win, the Hawkeyes played flat, according to head coach Jim Barnes, and managed to gut out 3-1 wins over Southern Illinois and Incarnate Word before falling to Missouri State on Saturday.
Barnes sees a correlation between the team’s performance and the welcome home they received.
“It was a strange week,” Barnes said. “To know that (Iowa State) match was included in the whole week of matches because Iowa State we played so well and really made a breakthrough there and then kind of played flat for all three matches at home. (There are) a number of things to help us get better from there for sure, but we certainly were flat. I do think the players were a little surprised with how empty the gym was.”
Announced attendance was 541 for Thursday’s match against Southern Illinois, 885 for Friday’s match against Incarnate Word and 690 for Saturday’s match against Missouri State. Iowa failed to draw half as many fans over the course of three matches as it faced in Ames on Tuesday — and announced attendance hardly told the truth of how many fans actually showed up.
Iowa's players celebrate after scoring a point during an NCAA volleyball match against Southern Illinois at Xtream Arena in Coralville on Thursday, Sept. 10.
“They kept bringing it up,” Barnes said. “We played in front of 5,000 at Iowa State, and then we came home in front of like 40.
“… When they walked in the gym after barely being able to hear in Iowa State’s gym, and it felt like a practice when we went in. They’re emotional beings. I know they were disappointed. Then, they go to the football game and its completely jam-packed. They were so excited about that, but that was also kind of sad for them too. That kind of support is there, and we got to figure out how to get Hawk fans to come out and support this team.”
Barnes understands part of the attendance problem falls at the feet of his team. Fans will show up for winning programs — look no further than the Iowa men’s and women’s basketball.
He feels like his group is starting to fulfill their end of that bargain.
“Winning is everything,” Barnes said. “That’s part of it, but we were winning. We just beat the 25th ranked team (RPI), who everybody knows about, and it was a shocker to come home and it be to an empty gym. We got to win more. We got to play better when we’re at home.
“Last year, we broke a record for home wins, so we did that part. It’s got to be consistency. Our players want that. That’s what we’re working towards. This week, we got four more matches, just like we did last week. We went 3-1 last week. Our goal is to go 4-0 this week.”
How will the Hawkeyes become more consistent and win more at home? Barnes wants to see more from his team defensively starting this weekend.
“We need to hold these teams under .200,” Barnes said. “We’re talking .230 to beat Top 25 teams, but these teams we want to hold them under .200. If we do that, that means we served well, we blocked like we're supposed to, and we didn’t let the ball hit the floor. If we did those three things really, these teams should hit under .200. If we do that, then we can beat Top 25 teams because our offense is good enough.
“… Where the mindset has to be is we got to block them and we got to defend, and so we’re doing some things this week to hopefully get that done — and the players who are blocking and defending will be on the court.”
For Iowa, winning consistently could be the next step toward building the home-court atmosphere its players experienced from the other side in Ames. The Hawkeyes get their next chance this week with four home matches, beginning with an in-state matchup against Drake (5-3), the Missouri Valley preseason runnerup pick, on Wednesday at 8 p.m.
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.
