University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
6-5,0-0MVC
Wichita State
3-9,0-0American
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita St. | 16 | 28 | 22 | 14 | 1 |
| UNI | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 3 |
Panther volleyball tops Wichita State in four sets
9/19/2026 4:03:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
UNI service game secures second straight win over Shockers. Panthers open league play on Tuesday at Drake.
CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — The UNI volleyball team dished out a remarkable 13 service aces, including seven in the first set alone to top the Wichita State Shockers on Saturday afternoon in the second of back-to-back home matches in non-conference action.
Battling an improved, high-powered Shocker offensive, Northern Iowa's defense also rose to the challenge with a season-high 13 total blocks, while the Panther offense hit .253 with 56 team terminations for the day. UNI finishes the non-conference portion of its schedule with a 6-5 record.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI put on a clinic offensively in the opening set, jumping out to an 11-4 lead thanks to three early aces from Lily Dykstra, Cassidy Hartman and Jadyn Petersen. Playing a very clean set offensively on .323 hitting and 12 team kills, the Panthers led from start to finish and added additional aces from Grace Hannam, Reese Booth and Petersen for a total of seven aces in a 25-16 win. Dykstra led UNI with four kills, as Isabelle Elliott and Kaitlyn Sellner each notched two blocks each.
Northern Iowa offensive efficiency carried over early into the second stanza, but Wichita State would put together its own strong offensive showing, hitting .245 with 17 team kills. The Shockers would take a 15-14 lead and push the Panthers down to the wire and into bonus ball, where, despite staving off a pair of set points, UNI would fall by a score of 28-26 to even the match at one set a piece.
Wichita State's defense continued to challenge the Panthers in set three in an early back-and-forth frame before UNI built a two-point lead into a media timeout. Northern Iowa stretched its lead to six points before the Shockers staved off four straight set points before the Panthers prevailed in a 25-22 win for a two sets to one lead. UNI finished the frame with 17 team terminations on .297 hitting.
Booth continued Northern Iowa's breakout day at the service line with an ace to start the fourth frame as the Panthers pulled away from a resilient Shocker team. UNI hit .346 with 11 team kills to close out the match with Petersen adding a sixth ace on the afternoon and Booth another ace late as part of a 25-14 win for the four-set victory.
Dykstra finished the afternoon with a match-high 19 kills on .425 hitting along with seven digs and two blocks, with Hartman posting 14 kills, eight digs and three blocks. Hannam posted a career-high seven kills in the win along with seven blocks, while Maryn Bixby put up a season-high tying seven blocks and seven terminations, and Elliott notching five kills and three blocks. Booth tallied a double-double 38 assists and a career-high 20 digs, plus a career-best tying three aces, with Petersen posting a career-best six aces along with 14 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 55-17-1 all-time against the Shockers with Saturday's victory. The Panthers have also won 14 consecutive home matches dating back to last season.
- Northern Iowa's 13 service aces were the most recorded in a match since the 2022 Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Tournament championship against Drake (15), as well as its first 10+ ace performance since last November at Murray State (10).
- Middle blocker Kaitlyn Sellner made her season debut on Saturday afternoon.
- The Panther defense has now posted seven or more blocks in all but one match this year. Saturday marked the fifth 10+ block performance this year by UNI.
- Jadyn Petersen's six service aces are tied for second-most in a single match in the MVC this season behind Illinois State's Ruth Ziegler (8) and tied with Indiana State's Corinne Knapp (6). Her six aces are the most in the MVC this year in a four-set contest.
- Cassidy Hartman tallied her 49th career match with double-digit kills on Saturday (ninth of the season).
- Lily Dykstra posted her 39th career performance with ten or more terminations in the win (ninth of the season).
- Reese Booth has now recorded a double-double in six consecutive outing, posting her 21st career double-double on Saturday afternoon and ninth of the year.
- Grace Hannam has tallied at least two blocks in all 11 matches this year for UNI. Maryn Bixby meanwhile has put up three or more blocks in all but one match this season in seven appearances.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Tuesday, Sept. 22 when they open MVC play on the road against the Drake Bulldogs. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT at the Knapp Center in Des Moines with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 Corn Country / Varsity app).
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.
