University of Northern Iowa Athletics
University of Northern Iowa
3-3,0-0MVC
South Dakota
5-1,0-0Summit League
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UNI | 22 | 25 | 25 | 21 | 15 | 2 |
| South Dakota | 25 | 21 | 19 | 25 | 17 | 3 |
Panther volleyball drops five setter at South Dakota
9/5/2026 5:30:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Hartman records 1,000 career kills in historic personal performance as UNI comes up short of victory.
VERMILLION, S.D. — Cassidy Hartman tallied the 1,000th kill of her collegiate career on Saturday afternoon, but the UNI volleyball team came up just short of victory in a five-set loss to the South Dakota Coyotes in the final match of the 2026 South Dakota Classic.
Both Hartman and Lily Dykstra posted over 20 terminations for the second time in the last three matches with three Panthers posting double-double performances, but Northern Iowa struggled to slow a resurgent Coyotes team down the stretch.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI faced an early challenge from the Coyotes in the opening set, splitting the first 16 points of the frame. South Dakota built a five-point lead before the Panthers rallied to pull within one at both 19-18 and 23-22, but with seven attack errors and two service errors, UNI would fall short in its comeback in a 25-22 loss, recording a .211 hitting percentage and 15 kills as a team, led by seven terminations from Dykstra and five from Hartman.
Northern Iowa pulled even with the Coyotes in the second stanza, but needed to overcome a resilient USD squad. Using a 4-0 run to tie the set up at 11-11, which included a service ace from Jadyn Petersen, UNI would grab its first lead of the set and hold off South Dakota thanks to a big offensive frame from Hartman, who tallied nine kills in the set in route to a 25-21 win. The Panthers finished the frame with 17 team terminations on .235 hitting.
UNI put together a strong team performance in the third set, holding the USD offense to a .154 hitting percentage. The Panthers tallied 16 team kills on .317 hitting and led for all but three points in the beginning of the frame before stretching their lead to as many as seven points before securing a 25-19 set victory to take a two set to one lead.
The Panthers jumped out to an early 7-4 lead in the fourth set, but quickly saw South Dakota storm back in a frame that saw 11 ties. UNI, which hit .226 and tallied 11 team terminations, would tie the set up at 16-16, but couldn't slow the Coyotes' offense, which posted 17 kills on .436 hitting, forcing the match to a fifth set after a 25-21 win over the Panthers.
The winner-take-all fifth set came down to the wire as UNI grabbed an early lead thanks to Dykstra's 20th kill of the afternoon and a service ace, but the Panthers could not shake the Coyotes' momentum. South Dakota staved off two Northern Iowa match points via Panther service errors, winning in bonus ball by a score of 17-15.
Hartman finished the match with a career-high 31 kills along with 17 digs for a double-double, with Dykstra notching a season-best 24 terminations, ten digs and two aces. Reese Booth posted a career-high 60 assists to go with 15 digs in her double-double outing, while Isabelle Elliott added seven kills and five terminations from Maryn Bixby. Petersen tied for the match lead with 32 digs as Taryn Rice tallied a career-best 20 digs.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI falls to 10-1 all-time and 8-1 under head coach Bobbi Petersen against South Dakota following Saturday's loss.
- Saturday's match snaps a three-match winning streak for Panthers in five-set contests dating back to last season. UNI's last five-set loss came against Louisville in the second round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.
- Cassidy Hartman became the 32nd member of UNI's 1,000 career kill club in the match, the first to join the list since Kira Fallert in 2023.
- Hartman's career-high 31 kills, her first outing with 30+ terminations, marked the first 30+ kill match for Northern Iowa since Karlie Taylor against Evansville in 2018.
- Hartman also posted her 27th career double-double in the match, her third of the season.
- Lily Dykstra posted her fifth career match with 20+ kills on Saturday, her second such match of the year. She also notched her third career double-double and first of 2026.
- Reese Booth's double-double against South Dakota was the 16th of her career and third of the 2026 season.
- Booth's 60 assists were the most by a Panther in a match since Rachel Koop tallied 61 assists against Evansville in 2019.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Friday, Sept. 11 when they take on No. 10 Creighton to open play at the Rice Invitational in Houston, Texas. First serve is scheduled for 3 p.m. CT at Tudor Fieldhouse with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2 / 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.
