University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
4-3,0-0MVC
Rice
2-4,0-0American
Panther volleyball rolls past Rice in three-set sweep
9/12/2025 6:45:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI remains perfect against Owls after Friday win in Omaha. Panthers meet No. 4 Louisville tomorrow night.
OMAHA, Neb. — UNI volleyball's offensive and defensive units shined on Friday afternoon as the Panthers picked up a 3-0 sweep over the Rice Owls in the opening match of the 2025 Bluejay Invitational at Creighton's D.J. Sokol Arena.
Coming off an impressive home victory over Iowa State on Tuesday, Northern Iowa's blocking defense racked up eight total blocks while the Panthers dished out six service aces against the Owls, all while hitting .324 as a team.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI set the tone early with the Owls in the opening set, surging past an early 5-5 tie to take control with multiple long scoring runs. A 4-0 Panther run put Northern Iowa ahead 9-5 thanks to a Jadyn Petersen service ace, while a later 5-0 run gave UNI a 16-7 lead with Reese Booth adding an ace in her first collegiate match back in her hometown. With Maryn Bixby accounting for three blocks, the Panthers tallied 12 kills on .259 hitting while holding Rice to -.161 hitting in a 25-13 first set victory.
Northern Iowa faced a stiff challenge from the Owls in the second stanza, who hit .359 with 15 kills to challenge the Panthers. Bixby and Hartman both tallied aces in the set as UNI built a healthy lead before Rice stormed back to tie at 21-21 and ultimately force bonus ball. The Panthers would prevail however as kills by Kate Shafer and Lindsay Oldendorf sealed the 26-24 win for UNI and put the purple and gold ahead two sets to none.
After splitting the first 12 points of the third set, Northern Iowa surged into the lead with an impressive 9-0 run, including multiple kills by Lily Dykstra and another ace from Petersen. Hitting .262 in the set with 15 team terminations, the Panthers held off another late push from the Owls, taking the set by a score of 25-20 to complete the sweep.
Dykstra finished the match tying her career-high with 19 kills on .485 hitting, while Hartman tallied a double-double with 13 kills and ten digs. Oldendorf posted five terminations and three blocks, as Bixby totalled four kills and a team-high five blocks. Isabelle Elliott recorded four kills, with Clubb finishing with three kills and three blocks. Booth tallied 18 assists with Kate Shafer notching 12 assists, while Petersen finished with a team-high 12 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 5-0 all-time against Rice with Friday's win, having never dropped a set to the Owls in the series.
- Reese Booth surpassed 700 career assists in the win.
- Lily Dykstra has recorded at least nine kills in every match this year, including eight consecutive matches dating back to last season. She has also posted ten or more kills in four matches this year.
- Cassidy Hartman posted her 11th career match with ten or more kills on Friday and fourth of the 2025 season. Friday also marked her tenth career double-double performance and third of the year.
- Lindsay Oldendorf surpassed 300 career kills in the win. She previously notched 269 terminations in three seasons at San Francisco.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday night as they take on No. 4 Louisville in a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. First serve is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CT with live coverage available on YouTube 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.
