University of Iowa Men's Volleyball

Shymansky led the Hawkeyes to their best overall start since 2006 with a 10-3 mark in nonconference action. Iowa won eight straight matches from Sept. 6-19 -- the longest streak for the program since 2006 -- and defeated the Cyclones, 3-1, for the first time since Sept. 13, 1997. The Hawkeyes won eight matches in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, marking the most home wins for the program since 2000, and started the season with a perfect 7-0 mark on Mediacom Court -- the best start at home for the Hawkeyes since 1993. The Hawkeyes saw a significant increase in attendance in Shymanskys second year, setting two top-10 attendance marks in 2015. The Hawkeyes downed the Cyclones in front of the fifth-largest crowd in program history (2,488) on Sept. 11, before hosting the nationally ranked Huskers on Sept. 23 in front of 2,447 fans -- the sixth-largest crowd in Iowa volleyball history. Mikaela Gunderson and junior Loxley Keala etched their names into the Iowa record book in 2015. Gunderson ended her career with a .294 attack percentage -- 16 points higher than the previous school record of .278 (Alessandra Dietz, 2014). Keala tallied 1,247 assists in her first year as a Hawkeye, moving her into eighth on Iowas all-time assists list. She also earned the first Big Ten Setter of the Week honor of her career for her play at the Comfort Suites Challenge on Sept. 11-12. Keala became the first Hawkeye to earn a Big Ten weekly award since Bethany Yeager in 2013, and the first to win a weekly setter award. The Hawkeyes also succeeded in the classroom in Shymanskys second year. Following the regular season, five Hawkeyes Mikaela Gunderson, Jess Janota, Alyssa Klostermann, Alli ODeen, and Erin Radke received Academic All-Big Ten recognition for maintaining a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher. In his 13th season overall as a head coach, Shymansky guided the Hawkeyes to a 14-17 overall record and a 6-14 mark in Big Ten Conference action. He has amassed a 304-126 record and .707 win percentage over 13 seasons, earning his 300th win milestone on Oct. 31, 2014, with a 3-0 sweep of Maryland on the road. The program's six conference victories in 2014 were the most for the program since 2008. Four of the Big Ten wins came consecutively, as the Hawkeyes defeated Maryland (3-0), Rutgers (3-1), Indiana (3-2) and No. 12-ranked Purdue (3-1). It is the longest conference win streak for the program in 20 years, dating back to 1994 when Iowa won eight straight matches and went on to clinch a berth to the NCAA Tournament. The team's win over the Boilermakers marked the team's first ranked win since 2012. Alessandra Dietz and Alex Lovell wrote their names in the Iowa volleyball record book in the final season of their careers under Shymansky. Dietz broke Jen Barcus' eight-year-old career attack percentage record (.276), finishing her career with a .278 attack percentage. She also broke the program's five-year-old single match attack percentage record, hitting .882 with 15 kills in Iowa's 3-0 win at South Dakota State, and ended her career ranked 11th all-time with 274 career blocks. Lovell closed her career ninth all-time with 1,279 kills, and earned the team's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. Seven student-athletes -- Julianne Blomberg, Dietz, Alyssa Klostermann, Erin Leppek, Lovell, Alli O'Deen, and Emily Yanny -- were named to the 2014 Big Ten Fall Academic All-Conference Team. University of Iowa Director of Athletics Gary Barta announced Shymansky as the volleyball program's ninth head coach on January 31, 2014. "The Big Ten is the most competitive volleyball conference in the country," Barta said. "I was thrilled when Bond agreed to lead our program. He has a strong track record as a head coach in the sport of volleyball and he has deep Iowa ties." "This is such an unbelievable opportunity for me as an Iowa City native and Hawkeye alum. But more importantly, it's a huge opportunity as a volleyball coach to be a Hawkeye and match the level of determination, intensity, commitment and expectation that the administration and Gary Barta have for the volleyball program's future success," Shymansky said. Shymansky's 12-year resume as a head coach boasted 24 all-conference honorees, three conference players of the year, two conference freshmen of the year, 17 AVCA All-Americans, two AVCA Region Freshman of the Year selections, and eight professional volleyball players. Shymansky arrived at the University of Iowa after spending five seasons (2009-13) at the helm of the Marquette volleyball program, where he has developed a winning culture and created a postseason tradition. On his watch, the Golden Eagles earned their first NCAA berth and NCAA victory in school history in 2011, and returned to the postseason in 2012 and 2013. Marquette also won its first Big East regular season title and Big East Tournament championship in 2013. Shymansky was instrumental in the accomplishment of many more firsts for the Marquette volleyball program. He developed 10 honorable mention All-Americans and the program's first third team All-American, helped the program accomplish its first-ever Top 25 national ranking and a No. 8 RPI rating in 2013, and signed the first top 25 ranked recruiting class in program history. Shymansky, a two-time Big East Conference and Regional Coach of the Year, also understands the importance of academic success. The Golden Eagles posted a team grade point averages of 3.3 or higher each season of his tenure. Before Marquette, Shymansky spent seven seasons as the head coach at Georgia Tech (2002-09), where he guided the Yellow Jackets to three NCAA Tournament appearances, including Elite Eight and Sweet Sixteen finishes, and three Atlantic Coast Conference championships. In his tenure, Georgia Tech posted an overall mark of 172-64 (.729), including a 96-38 (.716) record in ACC action, and earned No. 4 and No. 6 RPI rankings. Shymansky produced a first team All-American and a three-time second team All-American at Georgia Tech, signed a Top 5 recruiting class, and was named ACC Conference and Regional Coach of the Year.   Shymansky has a deep understanding of what it means to be a Hawkeye, as he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1995 and a Master of Arts in English Education in 1997 from the UI. From 1991-93, Shymansky was a setter and outside hitter on the UI men's volleyball club team. An Iowa City resident, Shymansky has a daughter, Corrina, and two sons, Nicholas and Bond.

Franklin came to Iowa after spending the 2013 season as the head volleyball coach at Green Bay. The Phoenix accomplished a 14-14 overall record and a 9-5 mark in Horizon League action. She had four players receive Horizon League honors at the end of the year, including three all-league selections and the conference Freshman of the Year. It was the second time in Green Bay history, and first time since 2003, that three earned all-league nods, and the first time in school history the Phoenix had a Freshman of the Year and a total of four postseason honorees. Prior to her time at Green Bay, Franklin spent four seasons coaching alongside Shymansky as an assistant coach at Marquette. While there, she served as the team's recruiting coordinator, trained the outside hitters and was the defense coordinator. The Golden Eagles appeared in back-to-back NCAA Tournaments in 2011 and 2012, and placed second in the Big East Conference in 2012 with a 13-2 record. Franklin began her coaching career as an assistant coach at Northern Illinois from 2006-08. Franklin played collegiate volleyball at Kansas State from 2002-04. She helped the Wildcats to a Big 12 Championship and three NCAA Tournament appearances. The Lincoln, Neb., native graduated with a bachelor's degree in family studies and human services in 2005.  

Payton's duties included travel arrangement, meal planning, coaching, assessing film, and recruiting. While there, she earned her master's degree in sports management. "I'm more than grateful for the opportunity to be an assistant coach here at Iowa," said Payton. "It's a privilege to be able to coach in my home state and in the Big Ten. I am excited to see what the future has in store for Iowa volleyball." Payton played collegiate volleyball at Northern Iowa. The four-year starting setter earned first team all-conference honors and conference player of the year recognition in three consecutive seasons (2009-2011). She is a two-time second team All-American (2010-11) and an honorable mention All-American (2009). She completed her degree at UNI in movement and exercise science: sport psychology in 2012.