University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
19-5,12-0MVC
Southern Illinois
10-16,4-8MVC
UNI volleyball hold off Salukis in road victory
11/1/2025 10:12:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers extend winning streak to 15 matches. UNI hosts Drake on Tuesday night.
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The UNI volleyball team withstood a strong challenge from the Southern Illinois Salukis on Saturday, but emerged with its 15th consecutive win of the year with a 3-1 victory at Davies Gym in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play.
Despite dropping their first set in a month, the Panthers hit collectively over .300 for a sixth straight match, with Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra leading the charge with 46 combined kills to move Northern Iowa to 12-0 in league play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI battled through a tough early challenge from Southern Illinois as both teams split the first 20 points of the opening set. The Panthers offense would finish strong however with a 15-7 scoring run down the stretch for a 25-17 win, thanks to a .467 team hitting clip and 17 team kills. Dykstra led with five kills for the Panthers, with Hartman and Isabelle Elliott tallying four kills, plus a pair of aces from Maryn Bixby.
Northern Iowa would trail for much of the second stanza before tying the set up at 13-13, thanks to an impressive 14 kills by Hartman in the frame. SIU would retake the lead with a 5-0 scoring run at 18-16, but the Panthers would remain resilient and force bonus ball, outlasting the Salukis by a score of 28-26 for a two set to none lead. UNI posted a season-high 26 terminations in the set alone on .453 hitting, with Dykstra adding five kills.
The Panthers would again have to face a stiff challenge from Southern Illinois in the fourth set as UNI was held to just .175 hitting and 14 kills, while the Saluki offense notched 17 kills on .316 hitting. Despite early ties at 6-6 and 13-13, as well as 22-22, SIU would emerge victorious with a 25-23 set win, snapping UNI's streak of 27 sets won.
Hartman and Dykstra would help push the Panthers past the finish line in the fourth frame, despite UNI being held as a team to under .200 hitting in the set. Key blocks from Elliott, Bixby and Lindsay Oldendorf would boost UNI's defense as Northern Iowa pulled away from an 8-8 tie and never looked back to take the set, 25-20.
Hartman finished the night with a double-double performance headlined by a career-high 26 kills and 11 digs, while Dykstra also set a new career-best with 20 terminations. Reese Booth led the match with three of UNI's six service aces, and posted a double-double with 28 assists and a team-high 14 digs, with Sydney Golden also posting 28 assists in the win. Elliott tallied nine kills, with Bixby finishing with seven kills and two aces, along with five terminations and three blocks from Oldendorf. Taryn Rice finished with a season-high eight digs as Jadyn Petersen notched 13 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 70-13 all-time against Southern Illinois, as well as 31-8 on the road all-time against the Salukis.
- The Panthers have now won 48 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 54 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 two after Saturday's win, including a magic number of three 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 this past Tuesday.
- The Panthers streak of 27 consecutive sets won, which was snapped in the third set on Saturday by SIU, was the second-longest streak in Division I behind only Nebraska.
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now just five 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.
- Northern Iowa has posted a team hitting percentage of .300 or better in six consecutive matches for the first time since at least 2013.
- Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra are the first pair of Panther teammates to both record 20+ kills in a match since Kira Fallet (24) and Emily Holterhaus (20) in 2023 against Indiana State.
- Cassidy Hartman's career-high 26 kills mark her third match this year of 20+ terminations. She also recorded her 19th match of the season with double-digit kills and posted her 18th career double-double and 11th of the 2025 season on Saturday.
- Dykstra tallied her 500th career kill in Saturday's road victory, joining Hartman as the second active player on the Panther roster to reach the milestone. She also posted her 20th career match with ten or more kills and 18th of this season.
- Reese Booth recorded her ninth career double-double in the win, and her seventh of the season.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Tuesday, Nov. 4 when they host the Drake Bulldogs. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the McLeod Center with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 FM Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2).
Fans are encouraged to wear purple for the team's annual Purple Out match. UNI students in attendance will also be entered into a drawing for a $1,000 scholarship giveaway (see rules and eligibility here), with UNI faculty and staff being celebrated during Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night.
Tickets for the 2025 volleyball season can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.
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.
