University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
8-5,1-0MVC
UIC
6-5,0-1MVC
UNI volleyball opens MVC play with competitive win at UIC
9/26/2025 8:40:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Panthers win fifth straight conference opening match in four sets over the Flames. UNI visits Valparaiso on Saturday.
CHICAGO — The UNI volleyball team opened up Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) play on Friday night, outlasting a competitive challenge from the UIC Flames at Credit Union 1 Arena in a 3-1 Panther victory.
In a rematch of last season's thrilling MVC Tournament championship match, the MVC's top two teams in the league's preseason poll battled each set down to the wire, with the Panthers prevailing for their 37th consecutive regular season conference victory on the backs on 59 team kills and a .271 hitting percentage. Northern Iowa also racked up eight total blocks and six service aces in the win.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers jumped out to a quick lead on the Flames with a 6-0 scoring run, highlighted by a service ace by Reese Booth. UIC would close the gap at 12-8 before a Jadyn Petersen ace put UNI back on track. The Flames would continue to be aggressive on offense while Northern Iowa's balanced offense, which racked up 12 kills on .269 hitting, helped maintain a healthy lead en route to a 25-19 win. Molly Shafer, Lindsay Oldendorf, Maryn Bixby, Isabelle Elliott and Lily Dykstra each racked up two terminations in the opening set.
UIC came out swinging in the second stanza with a .220 hitting clip and 16 team terminations, grabbing a quick lead on the Panthers. Despite falling behind as many as five points, Northern Iowa battled to within two points at 20-18 and pulled within a point at 24-23, but was unable to force bonus ball in a 25-23 set loss. UNI would hit .256 with 15 terminations as a team with Dykstra adding four kills to her total.
UNI and UIC would split the first 14 points of the third set until the Panthers grabbed the lead at 8-7 and gradually built a healthy lead. The Panthers would turn up the heat offensively with a 6-1 run for a 19-12 lead, but would see the Flames storm back and pull with two points with a 5-0 run. Thanks to a strong showing by Hartman, Elliott, Oldendorf and Molly Shafer, Northern Iowa withstood the UIC rally to hold on for a 25-21 win on the backs on 17 team terminations and a .244 hitting clip.
The Panthers broke an early 2-2 tie with the Flames and never looked back in the fourth set, racking up 15 team kills on .324 in the final frame. After UIC pulled within a point at 12-11, UNI used a 9-2 to seize control for a 21-14, featuring a Jadyn Petersen ace. The Flames would fight back late, staving off consecutive match points before Hartman sealed the Panther victory with a kill and the 25-22 win.
Hartman finished the night with a match-high 14 kills along with 15 digs for a double-double, while Dykstra totaled 12 terminations and six digs. Molly Shafer set new career-highs with nine kills and four blocks, as Elliott matched her career-high with nine kills as well, plus three blocks. Oldendorf tallied seven terminations and three blocks as Bixby added seven kills and a team-high five blocks at the net. Reese Booth matched her career-best with 28 assists, with Kate Shafer adding 23 assists and Petersen posting 13 digs and two aces.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 18-3 all-time against UIC with Friday's victory, its eighth consecutive win over the Flames dating back to UIC's entrance into the MVC.
- Northern Iowa is now 23-3 in MVC opening matches under head coach Bobbi Petersen, including wins in each of its last five conference openers.
- The Panthers have now won 37 consecutive matches against MVC opponents in the regular season dating back to the start of the 2023 conference schedule, the fourth-longest streak in program history. The stretch also includes 42 straight wins over MVC opponents in both regular season and postseason play. UNI's last loss to an MVC challenger came in the 2022 regular season finale at Drake.
- Lily Dykstra has recorded eight or more kills in all 13 matches this season, including her last 13 outings dating back to the 2024 NCAA Tournament. She has also tallied eight matches this year with 10+ kills.
- Cassidy Hartman recorded her 16th career match with ten or more kills on Friday, including her ninth of the season. Hartman also posted her 12th career double-double and fifth of the year.
- Reese Booth surpassed 800 career assists in Friday night's victory, bringing her season total to 255.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday as they visit the Valparaiso Beacons in MVC action. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT at the Athletics-Recreation Center in northwest Indiana 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.
