Jessica Hauptmann hired as volleyball coach at Iowa City Liberty

NORTH LIBERTY — How good of an athlete was Jessica Hauptmann?

As Jessica Gehrke, she was The Gazette’s 2010 Female Athlete of the Year. She is an Iowa High School Hall of Fame selection in two sports — volleyball and track and field.

After a distinguished beach volleyball career — as a player, then a coach — in Florida, Hauptmann is back home.

Thursday, she was announced as the new head volleyball coach at Iowa City Liberty.

“I’m excited to be back,” Hauptmann said. “It’s an exciting opportunity to coach these girls and give back to the game.”

Hauptmann, 33, succeeds Allie Kelly, who had been on the Liberty staff — first as an assistant, then as a co-head coach, then the head coach — since the school’s opening in 2017.

Liberty claimed the Class 5A state championship in 2022, and Kelly was The Gazette’s area coach of the year that season.

“When I took a tour of the facility, I saw the championship trophy,” Hauptmann said.

At Iowa City West, Hauptmann was a three-time all-state honoree in volleyball, including two appearances on the Elite all-state team. She won six individual/relay state championships in track and field, leading the Trojans to state team titles in 2007, 2008 and 2010.

She was a scholarship athlete in both volleyball and track at Florida International University, leading FIU to fifth place in the NCAA beach volleyball championships in 2014.

Liberty was 15-21 last season and reached the 5A regional finals. The Lightning return the bulk of their rotation for the 2025 season.

Hauptmann resides in North Liberty with her husband Caylin, and their two children.

Comments: jeff.linder@thegazette.com