CEDAR FALLS, Iowa — UNI setters Reese Booth and Sydney Golden both surpassed 1,000 assists for their career on Saturday night as the Panther volleyball team extended its winning streak to 13 matches with a 3-0 sweep of the Indiana State Sycamores inside the McLeod Center in Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) action.
Northern Iowa dished out a season-high nine service aces and recorded a team hitting percentage of .374, moving to 10-0 in league play and extending its regular season conference winning streak to 46 matches.
HOW IT HAPPENED
UNI dominated the opening set, scoring nine of the first 11 points, powered by a 6-0 scoring run. The Panthers racked up 17 team kills on .520 hitting and quickly amassed a double-digit lead on the Sycamores as Taryn Rice added a late ace for Northern Iowa. Cassidy Hartman, Isabelle Elliott and Lily Dykstra all tallied four kills in the first frame, helping UNI to a 25-11 set win.
Northern Iowa faced an early challenge from Indiana State in the second set, but was able to pull away in the later stage of the frame. Hitting .317 with 16 kills, the Panthers pulled away from a two-point advantage thanks to six terminations from Hartman and four by Dykstra, as well as three blocks by Maryn Bixby for a 25-15 victory and a two set lead on the Sycamores.
UNI again faced an early test from the Sycamores in the third set, but pulled away in commanding fashion with Hartman continuing to power the Panther offense with four terminations. Lindsay Oldendorf added three kills with three blocks as Northern Iowa hit .333 in the frame with 14 kills, along with aces from Hartman, Bixby and Golden. Kamryn Vogt also recorded her first collegiate kill as UNI rolled to a 25-16 win to complete the three-set sweep.
Hartman finished the night with a 14 kill, ten dig double-double, along with a career-high three aces in the win, with Dykstra recording ten terminations. Elliott tied her career-high with eight kills, as Bixby posted six kills, three blocks and a career-high two aces. Oldendorf tallied four terminations and three blocks, while Booth finished with 21 assists and Golden 19 assists, plus two aces. Jadyn Petersen totaled ten digs on defense as well as one ace.
ADDITIONAL NOTES
- UNI improves to 71-7 all-time against Indiana State with its sixth straight win over the Sycamores. The Panthers are also now 38-1 at home all-time vs. Indiana State.
- The Panthers have now won 46 straight matches in MVC regular season play dating back to the start of the 2023 conference schedule, the third-longest such streak in program history and the second-longest active streak in Division I volleyball. The Panthers have also won 52 straight matches over MVC challengers in both the regular season and postseason (longest active streak in Division I). Northern Iowa’s last loss to a conference opponent came in the 2022 regular season finale at Drake.
- In addition to UNI’s match winning streak, the Panthers have also won 22 consecutive sets dating back to the fourth frame of their Sept. 30 match at Drake.
- Head coach Bobbi Petersen is now just seven wins shy of passing former UNI softball coach Meredith Bakley as the university’s all-time winningest female coach, as well as the school second-winningest coach of all-time for any sport.
- Northern Iowa has posted a hitting percentage of .300 or better in four consecutive matches for the first time since October 2023 against Evansville, Indiana State, Missouri State and Southern Illinois.
- UNI’s defense has posted seven or more blocks in each of its last ten matches.
- Cassidy Hartman posted her 17 career double-double on Saturday, including her tenth of the season. Hartman, who has tallied ten or more kills in 17 of UNI’s 22 matches this year, also surpassed 700 career kills in Saturday’s win.
UNI’s 1,000 CAREER ASSIST CLUB
- Jill Arganbright (2000-03) – 6,084 assists
- Shannon Perry (1996-99) – 4,881 assists
- Bre Payton (2007-11) – 4,752 assists
- Heather Hook (2013-17) – 4,2788 assists
- Kara Galer (1992-95) – 4.265 assists
- Kristin Belzung (2003-07) – 4,256 assists
- Tayler Alden (2020-23) – 4,074 assists
- Mary Bernhardt (1984-87) – 3,977 assists
- Rachel Koop (2015-19) – 2,983 assists
- Bobbi Kreple (1987-90) – 2,780 assists
- Kinsey Caldwell (2013-14) – 2,549 assists
- Katie Crowley (1988-91) – 1,895 assists
- Erin Hirsch (2000-02, 2004) – 1,555 assists
- Molly Turk (2009-12) – 1,539 assists
- Reese Booth (2024-pres.) – 1,005 assists
- Sydney Golden (2022-pres.) – 1,004 assists
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to action on Thursday, October 30 when they host the Belmont Bruins inside the McLeod Center. First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT with live coverage available on ESPN+ and the Panther Sports Radio Network (106.5 FM Corn Country / 93.5 HD-2).
Tickets for Saturday’s match, as well as single-match and season tickets for the 2025 volleyball season can be purchased online through the UNI Ticket Office, by calling 319-273-4849 or through email at tickets@uni.edu.
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.