University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
11-5,5-0MVC
Drake
7-10,2-3MVC
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drake | 25 | 13 | 26 | 0 |
| UNI | 27 | 25 | 28 | 3 |
Panther volleyball rallies late to secure 3-0 home sweep of Drake
10/8/2026 8:50:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI remains unbeaten in league play through five matches. Panthers visit Southern Illinois on Saturday.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI volleyball team held off Drake late in the first set and rallied late in the third to hold off the Bulldogs for a three-set homecoming sweep on Thursday night inside the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Facing a stout Drake defense that produced nine blocks and held the Panther offense to a .190 hitting percentage, Northern Iowa dominated the second set and held the Bulldogs to .074 hitting and notched six total blocks in the final two frames.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Panthers faced an early challenge from Drake's stiff defense, splitting the first 18 points of the first set with Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra carrying UNI's offensive load early with nine and seven kills respectively. Northern Iowa's 22-14 lead quickly evaporated on a 7-1 Bulldog scoring run with Drake forcing bonus ball before the Panthers rallied late for a 27-25 set victory, finishing with 21 team terminations on .186 hitting.
UNI started fast in the second stanza and never looked back with a dominant showing on offense and defense. The Panthers posted four blocks in the frame with Maryn Bixby contributing to all four, including three straight blocks to help UNI build a 15-4 lead en route to a 25-13 second set win. Northern Iowa tallied 16 team kills on .412 hitting with Hartman adding six terminations to her match total.
Drake jumped out to an early 5-1 third set lead on UNI as attack errors plagued the Panthers in search of the match sweep. With Reese Booth dishing out a service ace and UNI gradually chipping away at the Bulldog lead, Northern Iowa went on a 6-2 run and staved off consecutive set points for Drake, forcing bonus ball and ultimately pulling ahead for the 28-26 victory and the 3-0 sweep with 16 team kills on .056 hitting.
Hartman and Dykstra both finished with a match-high 17 kills, with Hartman adding 15 digs for a double-double, while Dykstra added two blocks and nine digs. Bixby tied her season-high with eight terminations and a team-high four blocks, as Calia Clubb notched six kills with two blocks and three kills and two blocks from Grace Hannam. Booth posted a 44-assist, 13-dig double-double performance, as Taryn Rice notched 15 digs and Jadyn Petersen put up 22 digs defensively with one ace.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 98-16-2 all-time against Drake with their 11th consecutive victory in the series. The Panthers are also 54-4 against the Bulldogs under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
- Northern Iowa remains undefeated in MVC play at 5-0 with Thursday's win having not dropped a set in league play this year.
- The Panthers have now won 57 consecutive MVC regular season matches dating back to the 2023 season (second-longest active streak in Division I, as well as 65 straight contests against MVC opponents in the regular season and postseason, the longest active streak in Division I volleyball.
- UNI extended its home winning streak to 16 matches with Thursday's victory, tying the sixth-longest streak in program history from September 1988 to November 1989.
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now eight wins shy of the 400th MVC regular season win of the career.
- UNI is now 8-2 this year (26-5 all-time) when Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra post ten or more kills each in a match.
- Hartman jumped to 23rd on UNI's all-time kills list with 1,132 career terminations, passing Danielle Brazda (2003-07) and Shelby Kintzel (2009-13). The reigning MVC Player of the Year also posted her 12 match of the season with ten or more kills (54th of her career), and notched her eighth double-double of the year.
- Dykstra tallied her 13th match of the year with ten-plus terminations (44th of her career). She is now 133 kills shy of 1,000 in her career.
- Reese Booth, the reigning MVC Player of the Week, posted her 11th consecutive double-double, 13th of the season and 26th of her career on Thursday night. She also surpassed 1,800 career assists in the victory.
- Grace Hannam has recorded at least two blocks in all but one match this season, while Maryn Bixby has posted at least three blocks in ten of her 12 match appearances this year.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Saturday, Oct. 10 when they visit Southern Illinois in MVC action. First serve is scheduled for 5 p.m. CT inside Davies Gym in Carbondale with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (Varsity Network app only for this match).
UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
