UNI volleyball etched its name into the record books once again on Tuesday night as the Panthers won the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship for a fourth consecutive season, defeating in-state rival and third-seeded Drake in straight sets (25-13, 25-23, 25-23) inside the McLeod Center to punch their NCAA Tournament ticket. Northern Iowa captured its 21st conference tournament title in program history and secured the third MVC Tournament four-peat in league history. Head Coach Bobbi Petersen.
“There’s so much work that goes into it that starts in January, and there’s so many people that are a part of it,” Petersen says. “And it’s not even just the four teams that were a part of the four-peat. It is the tradition that has been built way back when Iradge [Ahrabi-Fard] was here and just people coming in and wanting to contribute to the tradition and wanting to be a part of it and build it and make it better. We have so many proud alumni that have our back through thick and thin. It’s something that’s for everyone that’s ever been a part of the program. And I think that’s what gets me the most when you think about all the wonderful people that have been a part of it. And that’s players, it’s coaches, it’s staff, it’s trainers, just so many people. We feel it. They have our back. We have people that don’t know a single person on this team, but are supporting us with their whole hearts, which is really cool.”
For their outstanding play, Cassidy Hartman, Lily Dykstra and Jadyn Petersen were all named to the MVC All-Tournament Team, with Hartman being selected as the tournament’s most valuable player.
The Panthers bolted out of the gate with an impressive first set showing, opening the night with a 5-0 run and scoring 12 of the first 18 points of the match.
Northern Iowa and Drake tied 11 times and swapped control of the lead three times in a back-and-forth second stanza.
The Panthers trailed 20-15 in set 3 and took their first lead at 23-22, closing out the comeback.
“You don’t worry about any point that’s happened. You don’t worry about any point in the future. I think that we finally got some defensive plays. That was a part of the game that I thought we really struggled with. I thought both teams were hitting really well and at a high percentage. We give them a certain percentage that we challenge them with each match. We weren’t even close to that. And so I just was like, you know, even if you’re missing your assignment, you’re going to miss it big. You’re going to be big and physical and you’re going to get a dig. You’re going to fight to get underneath that ball. So we challenged them on the defensive side. Being able to get the ball up in any way, shape or form, and then just getting it to Cassidy. She was amazing tonight. She was so physical and it didn’t matter what kind of ball she got. She was determined to kill it. And she did a really good job of hitting off the block. So I think that was the big difference maker late in that third set.”
Hartman finished the night with a match-high 23 kills on .606 hitting with Maryn Bixby tallying eight kills and three blocks, with Dykstra also posting eight terminations and two blocks. Isabelle Elliott, Bixby and Lindsay Oldendorf all posted three blocks in the win, while Reese Booth finished with 26 assists and two aces. Sydney Golden notched 14 assists with Jadyn Petersen leading the backrow defense with 11 digs.
The Panthers will find out their NCAA Tournament draw during Sunday’s selection show.
Press conference audio (Lily Dykstra, Cassidy Hartman, Bobbi Petersen):
