Heading to Chicago for the start of its season, the Iowa volleyball team will have a homecoming of sorts.

With five players hailing from the Land of Lincoln, traveling out-of-state may feel less like a road game and more of a short return home when the women compete in the Loyola Invitational, which will begin today at 7 p.m.

Junior Samantha Brannigan, a native of Palos Heights, Ill., said she believes the Hawkeyes are ready to begin the season after months of preparation.

“It’s really exciting. A lot of my family and friends are coming to support me,” she said. “We’ve all been working so hard all preseason, and I’m really excited to see us play together in a real game. It’s going to be super exciting. I think the team chemistry is going really good, and I think this weekend is going to show it.”

Having recently decided the final starting lineup for this weekend, head coach Sharon Dingman hopes the tournament can help the team inch closer to finding the perfect rotation.

“The whole training camp, we’ve been mixing up teams and sides so much, so it’s really just trying to get them together, to get some fluidity on their side,” she said. “We’re just doing a lot of six-on-six stuff to try to simulate matches. But more importantly is getting them together and seeing that chemistry.”

Starters for the Hawkeyes include freshman Emma Krieger Kittle — who will make her collegiate début — as well as Illinois native and junior Mara Hilgenberg.

Kreiger Kittle is from Iowa City, and she led West High to the state volleyball tournament last year. She will start as an outside hitter for the Hawkeyes. Hilgenberg is a setter and transfer from Indiana who saw action in 19 matches last season and posted one kill and 152 assists for the Hawkeyes.

Raised in Lake Forest — roughly 30 miles north of Chicago — she is excited about heading back home and seeing some familiar faces in the stands.

“It’s awesome to always go back to your hometown, and that’s where we play first,” she said. “Most of my friends are back in school now, but my parents will be there.”

The Hawkeyes will play host Loyola later this evening with contests against Marquette and Eastern Kentucky on Saturday. Last season, Iowa had its highest win total in almost a decade, going 14-18 overall (6-14 in the Big Ten).

Hoping to capitalize on that success, the squad will be tested early in the tournament. However, Dingman welcomes the task at hand.

“I think it’ll be a great opening weekend for us because we’re capable of beating all three of those teams, and we’re capable of losing,” the second-year head coach said. “The possibility is there for us to win, but we’re going to have to play well to do it.

“I do like the opening weekend. I like the challenge, and being on the road is good. We’re going to learn a lot about our team.”