PEORIA, ILL. — UNI Panther volleyball kept rolling through Missouri Valley Conference play Friday night, sweeping Bradley in straight sets for its fifth consecutive victory and extending one of the longest active conference winning streaks in Division I volleyball.
Northern Iowa defeated the Braves 25-15, 25-20 and 25-22 at Renaissance Coliseum, improving to 4-0 in MVC play.
The Panthers finished with 45 kills and a .174 hitting percentage while holding off Bradley’s strongest challenge in the third set.
NorthIowaToday.com previously reported that UNI steamrolled Murray State in straight sets as the Panthers continued their dominant run through conference competition.
Panthers set the tone early
UNI took control quickly in the opening set, hitting .265 with 15 kills while limiting Bradley to just four kills and a .000 hitting percentage.
Maryn Bixby and Cassidy Hartman each finished the first set with four kills, while Calia Clubb added three.
Grace Hannam, Taryn Rice, Lily Dykstra and Reese Booth each recorded a service ace as the Panthers rolled to a 25-15 victory.
Fast start fuels second-set win
Northern Iowa exploded out of the gate in the second set, building an 8-0 lead before Bradley could get established.
The Panthers finished the frame with 16 kills while Clubb supplied six of them.
Bradley managed four blocks in the set, but the Braves struggled offensively and finished with a negative hitting percentage.
UNI held on for a 25-20 win and carried a two-set lead into the third.
Bradley pushes back, but UNI finishes sweep
Bradley finally put Northern Iowa in an early hole in the third set, jumping out to a 7-2 advantage.
UNI gradually chipped away, cutting the deficit to 13-10 before eventually pulling even at 16-16.
The Panthers produced 14 kills in the frame and survived another late Bradley push to take the set 25-22 and complete the sweep.
The victory marked UNI’s seventh consecutive three-set sweep of Bradley.
Dykstra and Clubb lead UNI attack
Dykstra finished with a match-high 13 kills, giving her 13 matches this season with at least 10 kills.
The senior is now 150 kills shy of reaching 1,000 for her UNI career.
Clubb delivered a season-high 12 kills, her strongest offensive performance since recording 12 kills against Louisville on September 13, 2025. Clubb missed much of last season because of injury.
Hartman added eight kills, 11 digs and two blocks, while Bixby finished with eight kills and four blocks.
Booth recorded another big all-around performance with 30 assists and 15 digs.
It was Booth’s 10th consecutive match with a double-double, her 13th of the season and the 25th of her career.
Friday’s match also carried a family connection, with Booth facing her younger sister, Bradley setter Hayden Booth.
Jadyn Petersen added 15 digs and six assists.
UNI’s MVC winning streak reaches 56
Northern Iowa improved to 76-12 all-time against Bradley and has now defeated the Braves in 10 consecutive meetings.
More significantly, UNI has won 56 consecutive MVC regular-season matches dating back to the 2023 season.
The streak is the second-longest active conference regular-season winning streak in Division I volleyball.
When postseason matches are included, Northern Iowa has won 64 consecutive matches against MVC opponents, the longest active streak of its kind in Division I volleyball.
NIT has followed the streak throughout the season, including UNI’s straight-set victory over Drake in the MVC opener and the dominant sweep of Murray State that followed.
Drake comes to Cedar Falls next
UNI returns home Thursday, October 8, for another matchup with in-state rival Drake.
First serve is scheduled for 6 p.m. at the McLeod Center.
The Panthers will enter that match riding a five-match overall winning streak and looking to extend their remarkable run against Missouri Valley Conference opponents.