UNI volleyball squares off with Utah in NCAA Tournament opener in Omaha

Thursday, December 4

Omaha, Neb.

4:30 p.m.

University of Northern Iowa

Utah

Cassidy Hartman and Isabelle Elliott (2025 MVC SF)

Photo by: Allyson Schwab

UNI volleyball squares off with Utah in NCAA Tournament opener in Omaha

12/2/2025 2:00:00 PM | Women's Volleyball

UNI NOTES UTAH NOTES WATCH (ESPN+) [Utah]WATCH (ESPN+) [Second Round]LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network)LIVE RESULTS (Utah)

Panthers to make their 27th NCAA Tournament appearance, taking on the Utes at D.J. Sokol Arena on Thursday afternoon.

RV UNI volleyball (25-5 / 16-0 MVC) vs. Utah (15-14 / 7-11 Big 12) [NCAA Tournament-First Round]

Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025
4:30 p.m. CT
Omaha, Neb. | D.J. Sokol Arena (3,000)
WATCH (ESPN+) [Jon Schriner: Play-by-Play / Shannon Smolinski: Analyst)
LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)
LIVE RESULTS

RV UNI volleyball (25-5 / 16-0 MVC) vs. TBD [NCAA Tournament-Second Round]

Friday, Dec. 5, 2025
6:30 p.m. CT
Omaha, Neb. | D.J. Sokol Arena (3,000)
WATCH (ESPN+) [Jon Schriner: Play-by-Play / Shannon Smolinski: Analyst)
LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst)

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI volleyball team will make its 27th NCAA Tournament appearance on Thursday afternoon as the Panthers take on the Utah Utes in the opening round of the 2025 tournament in Omaha, Nebraska.

First serve is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. CT at D.J. Sokol Arena in Omaha 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.

Should UNI win its first round match on Thursday, the Panthers would face the winner of No. 11 Creighton and Northern Colorado on Friday, Dec. 5 at 6:30 p.m. CT in the second round. Tickets for both rounds of the opening weekend in Omaha are sold out.

Panther fans attending are encouraged to join in the game day excitement with a pregame social at The Old Mattress Factory in Omaha on Thursday at 1:30 p.m. CT. The event is free and open to the public.

This will be the fourth all-time meeting between UNI and Utah with the Panthers holding a 2-1 lead in the series. The Panthers last met the Utes in 2013 in a four-set loss.

UNI, which is receiving votes in the latest AVCA national coaches poll, is riding a 21-match winning streak heading into the week, the third-longest active streak in Division I, as well as the eighth-longest streak in team history. The Panthers are 17-26 all-time in the NCAA Tournament with its last win coming just a year ago against Illinois in the opening round.

Northern Iowa enters the big dance after capturing its fourth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) regular season and tournament championships, sweeping Drake in the MVC Tournament title match last Tuesday in Cedar Falls. UNI's victory secured the third MVC Tournament four-peat run in league history (Illinois State, 1982-85 / UNI, 1998-03), as well as the second time in history an MVC team swept the regular season and tournament crowns in four straight years (UNI, 1998-02).

The Panthers enter Thursday's first round match ranking in the top-12 in all of Division I volleyball in kills (14.6), assists (13.6) and attacks per set (37.6), as well as opponent hitting percentage (.149). Cassidy Hartman, the 2025 MVC Player of the Year leads the MVC in kills per set (4.1) and has posted 25 matches with ten or more kills in 2025, including five matches with 20+ terminations. Lily Dykstra has recorded eight or more kills in 28 of 30 matches this year and ranks second in the MVC with 3.5 kills per frame.

Reese Booth leads Northern Iowa with 6.2 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 113 blocks on the year, as Lindsay Oldendorf has recorded 90 total blocks.

SCOUTING UTAH
The Utes make their 20th NCAA Tournament appearance after posting a 15-14 record in 2025 and a 7-11 mark against Big 12 opponents, finishing in a tie for 11th in the league standings. Utah notably recorded three wins over top-25 ranked opponents (Kansas, BYU, Dayton) and rank fourth in the Big 12 with 1.4 service aces per set.

Led by 36th year head coach Beth Launiere, Kamryn Gibaldo leads Utah with 4.2 kills per frame, ranking in the top-ten in the league. Three Utes have dished out 30+ service aces on the year in Emrie Moea'i, Levani Key-Powell and Gibaldo, as Moea'i leads the way for Utah with 119 total blocks.

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.