Iowa Hawkeyes To Face 15 NCAA Tournament Teams, Including Stanford

The University of Iowa volleyball team’s 2017 schedule, announced Friday by UI head coach Bond Shymansky, includes 15 teams that reached the 2016 NCAA Tournament and a matchup with the reigning NCAA Champion Stanford.

“We are committed to our mission of True Mental Toughness and therefore we are committed to playing the best nonconference competition we can find,” said Shymansky. “We are excited about traveling coast-to-coast to face top level teams, and about our two home tournaments. Every Hawkeye fan will take note of our showdown with the Cyclones in September.”

Iowa kicks off the season with four tournaments, traveling to Long Beach, California (Aug. 25-26), and Washington D.C. (Sept. 15-16), and hosting two tournaments at Carver-Hawkeye Arena (Sept. 1-2 and Sept. 8-9).

The Hawkeyes nonconference schedule includes seven teams that competed at the 2016 NCAA Tournament, including Stanford, Coastal Carolina, Iowa State, Northern Illinois, Howard University, American University, and Princeton.

In addition to those seven nonconference schools, Iowa will compete against Wright State, Long Beach State, Nebraska – Omaha, and Indiana State before beginning league play.

After opening conference play against Rutgers on Sept. 22, the Hawkeyes face five-straight teams — Penn State (13), Wisconsin (3), Minnesota (1), Michigan (17), and Nebraska (2) — that ended the 2016 season ranked. All five of those teams reached the regional round of the NCAA Tournament, while Nebraska and Minnesota advanced to the Final Four.

“The Big Ten Conference slate is tough for us this year, but we are poised to continue our upward climb,” said Shymansky. “We have great opportunities to be challenged to be our best. We have worked to develop great rivalries these past few years and we expect everyone to bring us their best each night.”

Iowa has home-and-away series against Penn State, Minnesota, Michigan, Nebraska, Indiana, Illinois, and Ohio State. The Hawkeyes meet Wisconsin, Northwestern, Michigan State, Purdue, and Maryland just one time in Big Ten play.

The Hawkeyes host Nebraska – Omaha, Coastal Carolina, and Indiana State on Sept. 1-2 in the Hawkeye Classic. They square off with Iowa State and Northern Illinois in the Iowa Invitational on Sept. 8-9.

The 2017 Division I Women’s Volleyball Championship first and second rounds will run from Nov. 30-Dec. 2. Regionals will run Dec. 8-9, while the Final Four and National Championship matches will be Dec. 14 and Dec. 16, respectively.

Season ticket information will be available soon.

2017 Schedule

Press Release courtesy of Iowa Athletics.