Matt Levins - The Hawk Eye / Photo Credit - John Gaines Photography
Gabby Deery thought her days of playing volleyball in her hometown were over.
That is until the 2023 Notre Dame High School graduate got a text from her coach at the University of Iowa, Jim Barnes, asking for her Notre Dame High School volleyball coach’s cellphone number.
One thing led to another and Deery not only got to play another volleyball match in her hometown, she did so with her Iowa teammates.
The Hawkeyes played a spring scrimmage against Illinois State Saturday at Loren Walker Arena. It was five full sets to allow the players to get as many touches as possible and to allow both teams to get everyone court time with different units.
Deery was all smiles being back in her hometown, surrounded by family and friends, doing what she loves most.
“It is honestly so awesome coming back here and playing. Bringing all my teammates here has been so much fun,” Deery said. “My coach randomly texted me and said, Hey, can I have your high school coach’s number?’ I said, Sure. What do you have in mind?’ He was like, ‘I want to bring a scrimmage to Burlington.’ I was thrilled to hear that. That’s such good news.
“My coach is a great person. He’s an awesome coach. I knew coming here we would be able to pull a little bit of a crowd, which is a bit unusual for our scrimmages in the spring. It was awesome.”
Deery has gone through some major changes in the last year. The 6-foot-2 junior switched to the left side and changed her major from pre-dentistry to business.
For Deery, it’s all part of the college experience and the growing process.
“Switching to the left side has been quite a change, but I really liked it. I try every day to get in the gym and excel to get to where Coach wants me to be. I’m going to continue working on that all spring,” Deery said. “I switched to business and I’m really liking it so far. Both of my parents (Brad and Jeanne Deery) are business majors. I’m excited to see where that takes me.
“There’s always a different challenge they are throwing at us. It really helps me manage my time. That’s a great life skill to have. I’m really glad I get to continue to work on it at this age.”
Deery played in 24 matches last fall, starting 12. She finished with 137 kills, 35 digs and 20 blocks. She had a career-high 20 kills and five digs in a match at Maryland and had a season-high three blocks against both Drake and Oregon.
Deery capped her sophomore campaign by earning Academic All-Big Ten honors.
Iowa took a big step forward last season, finishing with a 10-22 record, 4-16 in the Big Ten. Two of the Final Four teams in the NCAA Championships last fall were from the Big Ten, with Penn State winning the national championship.
The scrimmage at SCC was the unofficial start to Deery’s junior season. The team is using the allotted eight spring scrimmage dates to hone their skills, strengthen their team chemistry and gear up for the official start of fall practice in August.
“We’ll go and watch film and I’ll pick up so many things. It’s nice to have a scrimmage this early. Now those 20 hours have started and we’re in the gym every single day. I can really be keying on what I need to work on,” Deery said. “Every year is a growth year. Right now, we’re taking this spring to grow and get better. We know what we need to work on from fall. So getting to work on that every single day in the gym is just going to put us that much further ahead for when fall season starts.”
Deery got a standing ovation from the large crowd when she was introduced and drew lots of applause every time she got a kill.
For Iowa, it was a chance to grow their fan base in a corner of the state known for its strong volleyball.
For Deery, it was not only a chance to perform in front of her family and friends, but a chance to show off her hometown to her teammates. The Hawkeyes went to Martini’s Grille on the Mississippi River in historic downtown Burlington for a post-scrimmage meal before heading back to Iowa City.
“It was so nice to be home and be surrounded by so many people that love me and love the sport of volleyball. I’m so grateful for everyone who came out today. This means so much to me,” Deery said. “I want to be a very consistent left-side attacker or wherever coach puts me if things change. I’m really focused on getting that one percent better every single day and really being a strong, dominant player for Iowa.”
