University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
18-5,11-0MVC
Belmont
14-8,5-6MVC
UNI volleyball rolls to 14th straight win in sweep of Belmont
10/30/2025 8:29:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers go undefeated in the month of October with win over Bruins. UNI visits Southern Illinois on Saturday.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI volleyball cruised through the first two sets and roared back from a five-point deficit in the third on Thursday night for its 14th consecutive victory in a 3-0 sweep of the Belmont Bruins in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Northern Iowa's offense recorded a team hitting percentage north of .300 for a fifth consecutive match while the blocking defense reached double-digit blocks for the fifth time this season with ten stops at the net. UNI's victory extended its MVC regular season winning streak to 47 straight matches, just days after the Panthers locked up a spot in this year's conference tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers stormed out of the gate in the opening set with a 5-0 scoring run, scoring eight of the first nine points while hitting .314 for the frame. Aided by three total service aces from Cassidy Hartman, Taryn Rice and Sydney Golden, UNI quickly built a double-digit lead on four kills from Hartman and three terminations each from Maryn Bixby and Isabelle Elliott to take the opening frame, 25-16
Belmont gave Northern Iowa an early challenge in the second stanza but quickly settled into a strong offensive performance. The Panthers recorded 18 team kills on .517 hitting with Hartman, Elliott and Lindsay Oldendorf all notching four terminations each as UNI found success attacking off the Bruin blocking defense. UNI would cruise to a 25-18 set win to take a two set lead in the match.
The Bruins jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the third set and maintained a healthy lead on the Panthers, but a strong blocking and serving effort helped UNI back into the set. A Golden ace and block by Molly Shafer tied the set up at 16-16 as part of an 8-0 run that put the Panthers ahead for good, while additional aces from Hartman and one from Jadyn Petersen on match point sealed a 13 kill set on .237 hitting for UNI to complete the three set sweep.
Hartman and Elliott led the match with 11 terminations and three blocks each, setting a new career-high in kills for Elliott. Bixby notched eight kills and four blocks as Oldendorf tallied six kills and four blocks. Lily Dykstra posted a six kill, four block match with eight digs, while Molly Shafer added four terminations. Reese Booth led the Panthers with 24 assists with Golden posting 14 assists and two aces, while Petersen anchored the backrow defense with 11 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 5-0 all-time against Belmont in a series that began when the Bruins joined the MVC in 2022.
- The Panthers have now won 47 straight matches in MVC regular season play dating back to the start of the 2023 conference schedule, the third-longest such streak in program history and the second-longest active streak in Division I volleyball. The Panthers have also won 53 straight matches over MVC challengers in both the regular season and postseason (longest active streak in Division I). Northern Iowa's last loss to a conference opponent came in the 2022 regular season finale at Drake.
- UNI's magic number to capture at least a share of the MVC's regular season title sits at three after Thursday's win, including a magic number of four for an outright title. The Panthers locked up a spot in this year's MVC Tournament by virtue of Bradley's loss at Illinois State on Tuesday.
- The Panthers have won 25 consecutive sets dating back to the fourth frame of their Sept. 30 match at Drake, the second-longest active streak in the nation behind Nebraska (33).
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now just six wins shy of passing former UNI softball coach Meredith Bakley as the university's all-time winningest female coach, as well as the school second-winningest coach of all-time for any sport.
- Coach Petersen notched her 900th victory on Thursday associated with the UNI volleyball team. Petersen's association with the Panther program stretched back to 1986 as a player (112 wins), graduate assistant (28 wins), assistant coach (133 wins) and head coach (627 wins).
- Northern Iowa has posted a team hitting percentage of .300 or better in five consecutive matches for the first time since 2022 against Evansville, Murray State, Belmont, Illinois State and Bradley.
- UNI's defense has posted seven or more blocks in each of its last 11 matches.
- Cassidy Hartman posted her 18th match this year with ten or more kills.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, Nov. 1 when they travel to Carbondale to take on the Southern Illinois Salukis. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at Davies Gym with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 FM Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2).
UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
