UNI Panther volleyball jolts Shockers with home-opening sweep, stretches home streak to 13
CEDAR FALLS — UNI Panther volleyball gave its home crowd plenty to cheer about Friday night, powering past Wichita State in straight sets and extending its winning streak at the McLeod Center to 13 matches.
Lily Dykstra hammered a match-high 17 kills and Cassidy Hartman added 15 as Northern Iowa won its September 18 home opener 25-23, 25-18 and 25-15.
The Panthers finished with 49 kills, a .255 hitting percentage and seven team blocks, gaining control after a tight opening set and never letting the Shockers recover.
The victory provided a strong response after UNI’s three-set loss to No. 5 Louisville in Houston to close the previous weekend.
Panthers survive early challenge, then take command
Northern Iowa led much of the opening set, but Wichita State’s blocking helped the Shockers pull even at 21-21.
Despite six service errors, UNI had enough firepower to finish. Hartman and Dykstra each delivered seven kills in the opening frame as the Panthers squeezed out a 25-23 victory.
The second set belonged to UNI almost immediately.
A 7-1 opening run put the Panthers in charge, and their defense at the net made the advantage stick. Northern Iowa collected six team blocks in the set, with Grace Hannam contributing three.
UNI held Wichita State to .098 hitting while recording 16 kills of its own, taking the second set 25-18.
The Panthers kept pressing in the third, leading from start to finish and building an advantage as large as 13 points.
Hartman and Dykstra each added four kills in the final set. Isabelle Elliott, Claire Munch and Hannam contributed two apiece as UNI hit .297 and closed out the sweep with a 25-15 win.
Dykstra, Hartman lead balanced effort
Dykstra hit .302 on the night, while Hartman paired her 15 kills with 10 digs and two blocks.
Elliott contributed nine kills and three blocks.
Reese Booth finished with 30 assists and 14 digs, extending her double-double streak to five consecutive matches. It was her eighth double-double of the season and the 20th of her career.
Libero Jadyn Petersen added another double-double with 19 digs and a season-high 14 assists. She has committed just one receiving error in 154 attempts this season.
Hartman also continued climbing UNI’s career charts. She moved past Chris Lest into 27th place on the program’s all-time kills list with 1,062 and surpassed 800 career digs.
Sophomore middle blocker Kiana Landers made her collegiate debut in the third set, recording two service attempts.
Old conference rivals meet again Saturday
Friday marked the first meeting between UNI and Wichita State since 2017, when the Shockers left the Missouri Valley Conference for the American Conference.
Northern Iowa now leads the all-time series 54-17-1 and is 16-11 in home openers under head coach Bobbi Petersen.
The Panthers also went three-for-three on coaches challenges Friday and have recorded at least seven team blocks in all but one match this season.
UNI and Wichita State return to the McLeod Center for a rematch at 1 p.m. Saturday, September 19. Coverage is scheduled on ESPN+, with Panther Sports Radio Network audio available through the Varsity app only for this match.