IOWA CITY — Iowa volleyball coach Jim Barnes believes he has a team capable of accomplishing things the program hasn't done in three decades. He just wishes more people were watching it.
After a 3-0 (25-21, 25-21, 25-17) sweep of Drake on Wednesday and a win over Iowa State last week, Barnes believes the Hawkeyes (7-3, 0-0 Big Ten) have a case as the state’s best team.
“That’s the University of Iowa. We need to beat these teams in Iowa,” Barnes said. “We just beat Iowa State, who beat Northern Iowa. … So, I would think we’re the best program in the state.”
On Monday, Barnes highlighted lackluster attendance during Iowa’s opening home weekend last week. On Wednesday, he responded to critics of his comments.
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Barnes pushed back on criticism of Iowa's in-state recruiting, saying the Hawkeyes pursue the state's top prospects but struggle to overcome sparse home crowds.
“I hear people always asking, why aren’t you getting the best?” Barnes said. “Well, we’re recruiting them. We want them. I’ll tell you the bottom line is they don’t come here because there’s no one in the stands. They tell us this. They’re going to go play where people fill the arenas, and they’re filling Louisville and Creighton and Pitt, but they’re not filling it at Iowa.”
Barnes did not name the Cardinals or Bluejays by accident either.
No. 20 Creighton features Iowa natives Campbel Drapeau (Dubuque Senior), Bailey Boeve (Hinton) and Abbey Hayes (North Scott). The Bluejays played in front of a sold-out crowd of 15,405 in Pinnacle Bank Arena against No. 1 Nebraska on Wednesday. They welcomed more than 2,000 fans to each of their first three games of the season at D.J. Sokol Arena earlier this month.
No. 3 Louisville features former Iowa prep superstar Payton Petersen and Mount Vernon standout Chloe Meester. The Cardinals played before crowds of 6,345 against Texas A&M and 7,618 against Wisconsin at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee. Louisville drew 1,074 for its home-opening sweep of No. 21 Indiana at L&N Federal Credit Union Arena.
Wednesday’s announced attendance was 782, though the actual crowd on hand fell well short of that number.
“Drake had almost as many fans as we did,” Barnes said.
Barnes also doesn’t believe the program’s move from Carver-Hawkeye Arena to Xtream Arena five years ago to be a factor in its disappointing home turnouts.
“I think it’s 1.8 miles,” Barnes said. “Come on, really? It’s a beautiful venue, and it’s perfect for volleyball. People, other coaches that come here go, man, this arena is exactly what you want for volleyball. It’s what I always wanted as a coach was to have a venue just like this. I don’t know, 1.8 miles. Maybe they could dig a little deeper, make it over. I don’t know. I mean, it’s early in the season people are just finding out we’re playing.”
Iowa’s average attendance in its final season in Carver-Hawkeye Arena in 2019 was 1,890. It’s averaged 724 through the first four games of this season.
Barnes said his frustration ultimately stems from wanting his players to experience the fan support Iowa's coaches promise them during recruiting.
“Support the ladies,” Barnes said. “That’s who I care about, supporting them. … These girls are so good. When we recruit them, we tell them, ‘Hey, you’re going to love the Hawk fans.’ I want them to see the true Hawk fans out there.”
Barnes believes there’s no better time to start paying attention.
“This is the best team in 30 years to ever play volleyball for the University of Iowa,” Barnes said. “We’ll see if that plays out and if I was right or wrong, but I do believe in this team, and I think if the fans would just give them a look, they will start seeing that this team’s really special, and we can do things that haven’t been done here before.
“Iowa State’s packing it, Nebraska’s packing it, Wisconsin’s packing it. All these schools are packing it, so we’d love them to come join it.”
Iowa last appeared in the NCAA Tournament in 1994 — 32 years ago.
“It’s on the board,” Barnes said. “That’s one of our goals: Make the first Big Ten tournament and to advance in that and then make the NCAA tournament. Especially these seniors, they want it really bad to prove that they help put Iowa on the map.”
“Why don’t (fans) come along for the ride because we’re about to go on a nice long run of wins, I predict. This team’s hungry and talented. We need the fans to come out and support us.”
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.
