Abby Phillips and Hali Hillegas looked across the net at one another in the quarterfinals of the Iowa State Volleyball tournament, never thinking they’d be on the same side of the net at Iowa State.

Phillips and Hillegas had no relationship during high school. One summer they played on the same club team and realized that they’d be teammates for college. The chemistry between the two freshmen grew throughout the past five months, and now the two look ahead to another defensive success.

“Knowing that both of us were coming to Iowa State after club season made us feel more comfortable with one another,” Hillegas said. 

The last time Phillips, from Marion High School in Marion, Iowa, and Hillegas, from Charles City High School in Charles City, Iowa, met in high school, Phillips’ team was advancing to the Iowa State Volleyball Semifinals. Hillegas was heading home and looking forward to a summer with the Club Iowa Association [CIA] volleyball team.

What Hillegas didn’t know at that time was that Phillips was about to join CIA for the summer. When the two started playing together, they were excited about the opportunity to form chemistry as well as provide some competition between each other.

Phillips committed to Iowa State earlier than Hillegas, so throughout the club season, Hillegas would ask Phillips questions about the college. Her answers and their overall relationship as teammates helped Hillegas decide to be a Cyclone instead of her initial plan to attend Northern Iowa.

“In the beginning, we were more of volleyball acquaintances, but once we reached college, we started becoming more close,” Phillips said. “As a freshman it can be hard to transition, and as a player you struggle, so it was nice to have someone to struggle with together.”

The chemistry between the two has progressively grown throughout the summer and into the volleyball season at Iowa State. Phillips described it as a mutual understanding of both players on how they can contribute on the court.

ISU volleyball coach Christy Johnson-Lynch has described Phillips and Hillegas as two competitive players that enjoy intensity and always have a knack to learn. She said that’s the reason why the team signed the two players, and she knows the future is bright with these two defensive specialists.

This will be libero Caitlin Nolan’s last year at Iowa State, which means the libero position will be open for any deserving player. The competition is looking to be between Branen Berta, Phillips and Hillegas, but the spot will have to be earned due to the long-standing tradition of defense at Iowa State.

Phillips and Hillegas know they will be battling against each other for the position, which is what each player expected coming into next season. Even with the competition, the players will be rooting for each other to find any way to contribute to the team next season.

“I think whoever wins the libero position once Nolan leaves will have to beat out some really good players,” Johnson-Lynch said. “Whoever wins that out is a really great player and will help this team in the future.”