University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
21-5,14-0MVC
UIC
15-8,9-4MVC
Panthers clinch fourth straight MVC Regular-Season title in a five-set thriller
11/7/2025 9:48:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI Panther volleyball outlasts UIC and claims its first five-set victory of the season.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI Panther volleyball welcomed the UIC Flames to the McLeod Center for the final regular-season matchup in Cedar Falls for the 2025 season. The Cats dominated set one and claimed a bonus-point victory in set two, but fell behind in sets three and four. In the winner-take-all fifth set, the Panthers came to life and notched five kills and six blocks in crunch time to claim the 3-2 victory. UNI's win clinched the Missouri Valley Conference Regular-Season title outright and gave UNI home-court advantage throughout the MVC Tournament.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The UIC Flames came out swinging and took a five-point lead early in the set at 9-4. After battling back and forth, the Cats mounted a five-point run, forcing a UNI timeout after tying the first set at 11 a piece. A pair of back-to-back kills from Isabelle Elliott and Cassidy Hartman gave UNI a two-point lead at 20-18 which forced UIC to take their second timeout. Out of the break, the Cats scored the next five points to extend their run to seven-straight and take the first set 25-18. The last five Panther points came off of two aces, two kills, and a block.
The Panthers jumped out to an early four-point lead at 9-5 after a five point run forced a quick UIC timeout to open the second set. Each team traded runs early as UIC came back and tied the set at nine apiece before the Cats were able to crawl back out to a lead just over halfway through the frame. UIC chipped away and tied the set at 17 and, eventually, held a two-point lead at 20-18. With their backs against the walls in the second set, the Panther attackers stepped up, getting needed points down the stretch. The Panthers ended the set with a 28-26 victory, just their ninth extra-point set on the season. UNI scored its last six points on three kills, two blocks, and an ace.
Neither team blinked early in the third set as the Panthers and the Flames battled back-and-forth and were tied at 12 points. UIC took a 15-12 lead which triggered the media timeout before a five-point run out of the break gave the Cats a 17-15 advantage down the stretch. UIC closed the third set with two, three-point runs to hand the Panthers a set-three loss by a 26-24 score.
The Panthers forced an early timeout from the Flames after a three-point run to give the Cats an 8-5 advantage. UIC responded out of the timeout with a run of their own and tied things at eight. The tie held until each team had 14 before UNI took a three-point lead at 17-14. UIC took the lead late in the set after a run that gave them a 21-20 advantage. The Flames outlasted the Panthers and forced a winner-take-all fifth set, the first of the season for the Panthers with a 25-23 victory.
The Panther blockers came out hot in the final frame with three blocks in the first five Panther points to force a UIC timeout. UNI's net defense continued to dominate with four blocks in the first seven points and five in the first 10. A kill from Cassidy Hartman was the eighth point of the fifth set and triggered a side change. The Cats didn't take their foot off the gas and scored the last seven points to the Flames' two down the stretch to come away with the gritty, 15-8 victory in the set and 3-2 match win.
Cassidy Hartman led UNI with 19 kills while Lily Dykstra was close behind with 18. Dykstra finished the match with a .378 hitting percentage as well as seven digs and three blocks. Maryn Bixby and Isabelle Elliott were the other two Panthers in double figures with kills with 12 and 10 respectively. Both Elliott and Bixby tallied eight total blocks. The UNI net defense was led by middle blocker Lindsay Oldendorf with nine blocks. She added five kills to her total.
"What an opportunity for us to grow and learn," said head coach Bobbi Petersen when asked about the team's mentality heading into their first fifth set of the season. "We're at home, we have a fifth set, what are we made of right now? Win or lose, how are we going to do that? Are we going to be on the attack or are we going to sit back, and I thought our kids just came out and pounced. Nothing went perfect, but I think we stayed aggressive."
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- The Panthers improved to 21-5 on the season and 14-0 in Valley play with the victory. UNI is now 19-3 all-time against UIC including 10-1 under head coach Petersen, winning the last nine meetings.
- The Panthers faced their first five setter of the season. That last five-set, Valley matchup for UNI came at Valparaiso last season where the Cats came out with a 3-2 victory after going down 0-2 to open the contest.
- The Panthers have won 50 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 56 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.
- Heading into the matchup, UNI claimed a share of its 23rd Missouri Valley Conference Regular-Season Title with a Valparaiso loss to Belmont. The title was the Panthers' fourth consecutive, UNI's and the Valley's second four-peat in program history and first since the Cats won five straight from 1998-02.
- Tuesday's victory over Drake secured UNI's 30th season in program history with at least 20 wins.
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now just three 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 recorded ten or more blocks in a match five times this season, including Friday's season-high 17 blocks against the Flames.
- The win marks the fourth consecutive season the Panthers have been undefeated inside the McLeod Center against Valley opponents.
- Taryn Rice tied career-highs with three service aces and eight digs.
- Molly Shafer tied a career-high with four block assists.
- Reese Booth tallied a career-high 37 assists.
- Lindsay Oldendorf set a career-high with nine block assists.
- Maryn Bixby recorded a career-high eight block assists.
- Isabelle Elliott tallied a career-high eight block assists.
- Jadyn Petersen set a career-high with 27 digs.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action next Friday, Nov. 14 as they kick off the final week of the regular season with a match at Murray State. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at Racer Arena in Kentucky 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.
