The Iowa women’s volleyball team has found a new source of strength and leadership in fourth-year returner Michelle Urquhart, proving to be a weapon for the team with high figures across multiple matches.
Coming off an 8-24 season that ended with the team 0-20 in conference play, the largely new team is overall more successful this time around. The Hawkeyes aren’t perfect, but they’re collecting wins in Big Ten play and consistently holding their own against formidable teams.
Urquhart is playing a third and final season with the Hawkeyes, racking up high numbers during multiple key games. Humbly, she said a lot of the credit for good performance goes to the team as a whole, though, namely first-year setter Jenna Meitzler.
“I give all the credit to our defense and to our setter,” Urquhart said. “She’s putting up great balls, and we’re digging great opportunities to get those numbers. So really, all the credit goes to my team for putting me in those situations.”
Urquhart’s collegiate career began at Tulane, transferring to Iowa after one season. Urquhart’s teammate Anna Davis also played at Tulane.
Davis, now in a similarly final season of eligibility at Iowa, has seen Urquhart as valuable to the team across their collective careers.
“It’s awesome playing with her every game,” Davis said. “She brings a really competitive edge. Everything she does brings a good, commanding, but calming presence at the same time.”
Urquhart has developed a unique connection with head coach Jim Barnes just as she has with Davis. Barnes is also in his third season with the Iowa team, having previously coached at Tulane for six seasons.
“My relationship with him is amazing,” Urquhart said. “I joke around with him all the time. You can catch me during practice making jokes. I would say we have a great relationship. I’ll just pop into his office randomly.”
Davis admires how confident Urquhart is as a person, something that helps both in and out of games.
“She knows who she is,” Davis said. “She knows what she’s about and what she stands firm in. That holds true in life and also on the volleyball court. Having someone that confident, that steady in all she does, it makes it easier to be around her and fun to be around her.”
As of Oct. 15, just prior to an away game at Northwestern, Urquhart is a team leader in service aces, having tallied 30 throughout the team’s 18 games of play.
Urquhart also holds up in kills, taking second on the team with 143 prior to the game against the Wildcats, second only to first-year Malu Garcia, who leads with 179.
Davis noted how this season has really given Urquhart a chance to shine.
“Last season, there was a lot going on,” Davis said. “This season, she’s really come out and given everything she’s got and been able to put up those numbers. It’s like all the hard work that she’s put in and that I’ve seen her put in for the past four years is starting to really pay off.”
Urquhart, in the midst of a season that has seen multiple double-doubles, has enjoyed the energy the team brings.
“It feels like a real family,” Urquhart said. “We’re just making history for Iowa, and people are just going to have to see what else we bring.”