University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
Air Force
Panther volleyball returns to road for South Dakota Classic
9/1/2026 11:55:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
UNI visits Vermillion for three-match event against Air Force, Utah Valley and South Dakota.
UNI volleyball (1-2 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Air Force (1-1 / 0-0 Mountain West)
- Thursday, Sept. 3, 2026
- 4 p.m. CT
- Vermillion, S.D. | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (6,000)
- WATCH (Midco Sports Plus) [$]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
UNI volleyball (1-2 / 0-0 MVC) vs. Utah Valley (0-3 / 0-0 Big West)
- Friday, Sept. 4, 2026
- 4 p.m. CT
- Vermillion, S.D. | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (6,000)
- WATCH (Midco Sports Plus) [$]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
UNI volleyball (1-2 / 0-0 MVC) at South Dakota (2-1 / 0-0 Summit)
- Saturday, Sept. 5, 2026
- 2 p.m. CT
- Vermillion, S.D. | Sanford Coyote Sports Center (6,000)
- WATCH (Midco Sports Plus) [$]
- LISTEN (Panther Sports Radio Network) [Chris Kleinhans-Schulz: Play-by-Play / Jay Grassley: Analyst]
- LIVE RESULTS
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa --- The UNI volleyball team returns to action Thursday afternoon for its second non-conference tournament of the fall as it takes on Air Force, Utah Valley and South Dakota in the South Dakota Classic.
First serve for both Thursday and Friday's matches against the Falcons and Wolverines is scheduled for 4 p.m. CT, with Saturday's contest with the Coyotes slated for 2 p.m. CT at the Sanford Coyote Sports Center. All matches will be streamed live on Midco Sports Plus with a subscription, with live radio coverage of all three matches on the Panthers Sports Radio Network (106.5 Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2 / Varsity app) with Chris Kleinhans-Schulz and Jay Grassley on the call.
Northern Iowa will meet Air Force and Utah Valley for the first time in program history, and South Dakota for the first time in the regular season since 2017. The Panthers are 10-0 all-time against the Coyotes and 8-0 vs. USD under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
UNI opened the 2026 season at the Cyclone Invitational in Ames last weekend with a come-from-behind, five-set victory over Loyola-Chicago and losses to Georgia Tech and Iowa State. Offensively, the Panthers saw breakout performances from Lily Dykstra against Georgia Tech, Isabelle Elliott vs. Loyola-Chicago and Cassidy Hartman against Iowa State, with Elliott and Hartman both notching career-high marks for kills with 21 and 27 respectively.
Heading into the South Dakota Classic, Hartman sits 64 kills shy of becoming the 32nd player in program history to reach 1,000 career terminations.
Defensively at the Cyclone Invitational, Jadyn Petersen, who was named the Missouri Valley Conference's (MVC) Libero of the Week on Monday, notched a .958 reception percentage with just one receiving error, while Grace Hannam recorded 15 total blocks on the weekend, including seven against Iowa State during her first weekend of collegiate volleyball action. Freshman Claire Munch also made her collegiate debut against Georgia Tech, finishing the weekend with two seven-kill performances and six total blocks, as did sophomore defensive specialist/libero Sophie Buysse.
SCOUTING AIR FORCE
The Falcons opened their 2026 campaign by splitting their two matches at Boston College's Chestnut Hill Invitational last weekend, with a 3-0 loss to Boston College and a 3-0 sweep of Quinnipiac. Air Force is coming off a 15-15 season a year ago, tying for eighth in the Mountain West Conference at 7-11.
Led by third year head coach Macey Donathan, the Falcons were picked eighth in the Mountain West's preseason poll. Alyssa Walker leads Air Force early in the year with four kills per set, while Gracie Fiaseau has posted 2.3 kills per frame and six total blocks.
SCOUTING UTAH VALLEY
Fresh off hosting a home tournament in Orem last weekend, Utah Valley looks for its first victories of the season after falling to Utah Tech, Utah and Oregon State to open the season. The Wolverines, who are in their first season in the Big West Conference, were co-regular season and tournament champions in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) in 2025, reaching the NCAA Tournament for the third time in team history before a first round loss to Stanford.
Led by 27th year head coach Sam Atoa, Utah Valley was picked fourth in the Big West preseason poll. Madi Standifird leads the Wolverines with 4.73 kills per set, with nine assists per frame from Evalyn Medaris and Brielle Ruecker posting a team-high nine total blocks.
SCOUTING SOUTH DAKOTA
South Dakota returns home to Vermillion after going 2-1 at the Drake Tournament in Des Moines last weekend with wins over Drake and Milwaukee. The Coyotes posted a 20-9 record in 2025, finishing second in the Summit League at 12-4 before falling to St. Thomas in the conference tournament semifinals.
Led by 13th year head coach Leanne Williamson, South Dakota tied for second in the Summit League's preseason poll, with setter Avery Van Hook and outside hitter Lauren Medeck both landing on the league's preseason watchlist.
Medeck has recorded 3.91 kills per set in her first three matches this year, with Gabu Zachariasen (3.1 kills) and Audrey Nelson (3.09 kills) also contributing to the Coyotes' success offensively. Van Hook meanwhile has notched 11.2 assists and 4.55 digs per frame, while Amanda Loschen has tallied 13 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 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
