UNI volleyball squares off with Drake for MVC Tournament title

Tuesday, November 25

Cedar Falls, Iowa

6 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Drake

UNI volleyball vs. Illinois State [2025 MVC Tournament Semifinal] - Nov. 22, 2025 (Cedar Falls, Iowa)

Photo by: Allyson Schwab

UNI volleyball squares off with Drake for MVC Tournament title

11/24/2025 1:53:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

UNI NOTES DRAKE NOTES WATCH (ESPN+)LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network)LIVE RESULTS TICKETS Photo Gallery

Panthers set to play for fourth straight conference tournament crown on Tuesday night at home. Tickets now available for purchase.

UNI volleyball (24-5 / 16-0 MVC) vs. Drake (18-11 / 12-4 MVC) [MVC Tournament Championship]

Tuesday, Nov. 25, 2025
6 p.m. CT
Cedar Falls, Iowa | McLeod Center (6,650)
WATCH (ESPN+) [Larry Morgan: Play-by-Play / Beth West: Analyst)
LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
LIVE RESULTS
TICKETS

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The 2025 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Volleyball Tournament reaches its conclusion on Tuesday night as the UNI Panthers seek their fourth consecutive title hosting in-state rival Drake in the championship match.

First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 FM Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2) with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz and Jay Grassley on the call.

Tickets for Saturday's match can be purchased through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.

Panther fans are also encouraged to join in the game day excitement with a pregame social at Pepper's Grill and Sports Pub in Cedar Falls prior to the match at 3 p.m. CT on Tuesday. The event is free and open to the public.

This will be the third championship match in the last four seasons to feature the Panthers and Bulldogs (2022, 2023). UNI and Drake have met in the title match four total times with Northern Iowa emerging victorious in each matchup. The Panthers, who swept the regular season series from the Bulldogs with a pair of four-set victories, lead the all-time series 95-16-2 and have won their last ten matches against Drake.

A Panther victory would not only secure an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament, but also complete only the third four-peat tournament run in MVC history. The Panthers would also be the first conference program to sweep the regular season and tournament titles in four straight seasons since UNI did so in five straight years (1998-2002). UNI is riding a 20-match winning streak heading into the week, tied for the second-longest active streak in Division I, as well as the seventh-longest streak in team history.

Northern Iowa, who has won 59 consecutive matches against MVC opponents in both the regular season and postseason, escaped a stiff challenge from fifth-seeded Illinois State in last Saturday's tournament semifinal. Second Team All-MVC outside hitter Lily Dykstra tied her career-high with 21 kills while MVC Player of the Year Cassidy Hartman posted 14 terminations in the victory. Lindsay Oldendorf, another Second Team All-MVC middle blocker, tied her career-high with nine total blocks and Molly Shafer posted nine kills and a career-high 11 digs.

Additionally in Saturday's semifinal, head coach Bobbi Petersen picked up her 633rd career win, moving her ahead of former Panther softball coach Meredith Bakley as the winningest women's coach in university history for any sport.

UNI enters Tuesday's championship match ranking in the top-ten in all of Division I volleyball with kills (14.6), assists (13.6) and attacks per set (37.8), as well as opponent hitting percentage (.149). Hartman leads the MVC in kills per set (4) and has posted 24 matches with ten or more kills in 2025, including four outings with 20+ kills. Dykstra has recorded eight or more kills in 27 of 29 matches this year and ranks second in the MVC with 3.5 kills per frame.

Reese Booth leads Northern Iowa with 6.1 assists per set, while Jadyn Petersen anchors the Panther backrow with 4.4 digs per frame and a team-high 24 service aces. At the net, Maryn Bixby has posted a team-high 110 blocks on the year, as Oldendorf has recorded 87 total blocks.

SCOUTING DRAKE
The Bulldogs make their second trip to Cedar Falls this season after scoring a five-set opening round win over sixth-seeded Belmont last Wednesday in Des Moines, and a four-set upset of second-seeded Valparaiso in Indiana on Saturday.

Led by 13th year head coach Darrin McBroom, who cracked the MVC's top-ten list for coaching wins this year, the Bulldogs have been among the league's hottest teams. Following its Sept. 30 home loss to the Panthers, Drake's lone loss came on Nov. 4 when it made the return trip to Cedar Falls.

Outside hitter Kacia Brown and Macy Daufeldt both earned First Team All-MVC honors for the Bulldogs this year, while right side Caroline Smith earned a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team.

Daufeldt leads with 3.4 kills per set for Drake this year with Brown posting 3.3 kills per frame. Addison Beagle, Emaline Handzel and Brown have all dished out 21 service aces each this season as Bliss Beck has anchored the Bulldogs' blocking defense with 122 total blocks, while Aniyah Davis has also recorded 109 blocks.

2025 MVC TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE / RESULTS

Opening Round (Nov. 19)

#5 Illinois State def. #4 UIC, 3-2
#3 Drake def. #6 Belmont, 3-2

Semifinals (Nov. 22)

#1 UNI def. #5 Illinois State, 3-2
#3 Drake def. #2 Valparaiso, 3-1

Championship (Nov. 25)

#3 Drake at #1 UNI - 6 p.m. CT

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.