Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Oct. 13)

Player of the Week: Cassidy Hartman, Northern Iowa
Defensive Player of the Week: Maryam Hussein, UIC
Libero of the Week: Sammi Bunch, Illinois State

Cassidy Hartman led the Panthers’ offense with 35 kills across two victories over Drake and Southern Illinois, averaging 5.00 kills per set while hitting .259. The senior outside hitter delivered back-to-back double-doubles, recording 17 kills and 15 digs against Drake before adding 18 kills and 15 digs at Southern Illinois. Hartman reached double figures in kills for the 13th time this season and moved into a tie for 21st on UNI’s all-time kills list with 1,150 career kills. Her contributions helped the Panthers improve to 6-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and extend their conference winning streaks to 58 consecutive regular-season matches and 66 overall.

Maryam Hussein anchored UIC at the net, totaling 10 blocks in victories over Evansville and Murray State. The freshman middle blocker averaged 1.67 blocks per set across seven sets, recording a collegiate-best seven blocks, including one solo block, in the four-set win over Evansville. She followed with three blocks in UIC’s sweep of Murray State, helping the Flames secure two conference victories. Hussein now ranks fourth on the team with 28 total blocks this season.

Sammi Bunch anchored Illinois State’s back row with 43 digs across two victories over Bradley and Indiana State, averaging 6.14 digs per set to lead the Missouri Valley Conference for the week. The senior libero recorded 20 digs in the sweep of Bradley before adding 23 digs in the four-set win over Indiana State, reaching the 1,000-dig milestone for her collegiate career and bringing her career total to 1,021. Bunch has recorded at least 20 digs in each of her last three matches and helped the Redbirds limit opponents to a .143 hitting percentage across the two-match stretch.

Conference News & Notes

  • Northern Iowa picked up two more wins last week, moving to 6-0 in Conference play. With a loss by Dayton on Saturday, the Panthers now hold the longest regular-season Conference win streak in the nation at 58-straight matches. 
  • In the inaugural match of the “War on 74” rivalry series, sponsored by Country Financial, the Redbirds swept Bradley, before picking up another win against Indiana State over the Weekend. Illinois State senior Sammi Bunch recorded her 1,000th career dig in the first set against the Sycamores, finishing the match with 23. 
  • Valparaiso extended its home win streak to three matches with a pair of wins over Evansville and Murray State. Jordyn Gove surpassed her career best with 24 kills against the Purple Aces, while the Beacons’ sweep of the Racers marked their first straight-set win in Valley play this year. 
  • After starting league play 0-3, UIC has earned three-straight victories, including a 3-1 win over Evansville and sweep of Murray State over the weekend. Gabi Peter continued her offensive output, hitting above .400 in both matches, including an impressive .476 against the Racers, with two more double-digit kill outings. 
  • Bradley handed Belmont its first MVC loss of the season by way of a sweep on Saturday. The Braves were led by Gracie Furlong, who finished the match with 20 kills on .439 hitting, while adding 15 digs for her 11th double-double of the year. Bradley registered a .331 hitting percentage as a team, marking the fourth time this season the Braves have hit above .300. 
  • Belmont opened the weekend with a sweep of Southern Illinois, extending its then-set winning streak to 15. The Bruins were led by Erin McMullen, who registered 14 kills on .414 hitting with five blocks, while Brenna Kauffeld added nine kills, hitting at a .444 clip. 
  • UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen is the sixth winningest active coach in Division I with 647 career victories. 
  • Bradley’s Gracie Furlong leads The Valley, and ranks inside the top 20 nationally with 270 total kills. UNI’s Cassidy Hartman (4.30) and Lily Dykstra (4.17) are the only two players in the league averaging over 4.00 kills per set this season. 
  • Drake’s Jasmine Dulan ranks inside the top five in Division I with 361 total digs and 5.47 digs per frame. Northern Iowa’s Jadyn Petersen joins Dulan inside the top 10 in digs per set (4.98), while Southern Illinois’ Jillian Shaneyfelt ranks 16th nationally with 324 digs. 
  • Bradley’s Maria Drapp is one of three setters in the league with over 600 assists this season with a league-leading 681. That number is the 17th-most assists in Division I heading into this week.