Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Oct. 26)

Player of the Week: Cassidy Hartman, Northern Iowa
Defensive Player of the Week: Erin McMullen, Belmont
Libero of the Week: Jadyn Petersen, Northern Iowa

UNI senior outside hitter Cassidy Hartman delivered a dominant performance to help the Panthers extend their historic conference winning streak with a pair of sweeps over Evansville and Bradley. Hartman led UNI with 5.33 kills per set, totaling 32 kills while hitting an impressive .467 across the two victories. She recorded double-digit kills in both matches, highlighted by a 22-kill performance against Bradley, marking her fourth 20-plus-kill match of the season. Hartman committed just four attack errors on 60 attempts and contributed two service aces and three blocks over the weekend. She also surpassed 1,200 career kills, moving into 17th place on UNI’s all-time list, as the Panthers improved to 10-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play and secured their 70th consecutive victory against conference opponents.

Belmont sophomore middle blocker Erin McMullen anchored the Bruins at the net, helping lead Belmont to a pair of conference victories with an outstanding two-way performance. McMullen totaled 18 kills while hitting .368 and added 11 blocks and 24 points across wins over Murray State and Illinois State. She opened the weekend with 11 kills on a .348 hitting percentage and six blocks against Murray State before contributing seven kills on .400 hitting, five blocks and 9.5 points in Belmont’s sweep of Illinois State. The victory marked Belmont’s first win in program history over the Redbirds. McMullen continues to be one of the conference’s most efficient attackers, leading the MVC with a .397 hitting percentage while ranking second on Belmont’s roster with 192 kills. She also leads the Bruins with 66 total blocks this season.

UNI junior libero Jadyn Petersen played a key role in the Panthers’ continued dominance in Missouri Valley Conference play, providing steady back-row defense during sweeps of Evansville and Bradley. Petersen recorded 26 digs over the two matches, averaging 4.33 digs per set, and added two service aces and 12 assists. She led UNI with 16 digs against Evansville before contributing 10 more against Bradley as the Panthers extended their conference winning streak to 70 consecutive matches, including regular-season and postseason play. Petersen also delivered an exceptional performance in serve receive, posting a .955 reception percentage with just one error over the weekend. Her consistency has been a major asset throughout the season, as she ranks second in the MVC with 4.99 digs per set and third in total digs with 359.

Conference News & Notes

  • Northern Iowa continues to sit atop the Missouri Valley Conference standings with an untouched 10-0 record in league play this season. Belmont won its fourth-straight to move to 9-1 in the Valley standgins, while Illinois State is in third place with a 7-3 record. Bradley, Drake and UIC are tied at 6-4 to round out the top half of the league standings. 
  • UNI made history with its sweep of Bradley, breaking its own program and Missouri Valley Conference overall win streak, winning its 70th-straight Valley match, inclusive of postseason. With the win, the Panthers earned their 62nd-straight regular-season Conference win, pulling within seven victories of the UNI and MVC all-time record of 69. Both win streaks are the longest active marks in Division I volleyball. 
  • Belmont’s off to its best Conference start in program history with a 9-1 ledger in Valley play. The Bruins hit at a .356 clip and committed just five attacking errors as a team on Sunday, sweeping Illinois State on the road.
  • Reese Booth became the 12th player in UNI program history to reach 2,000 career assists over the weekend. She joins Bradley’s Maria Drapp as the only two active players in the league with 2,000-plus career assists. Drapp, who leads the MVC with 824 assists this season, ranks inside the top 25 nationally in the category.
  • Drake earned a pair of five-set victories over the weekend to extend its win streak to three matches. The Bulldogs were led offensively by Caroline Smith (37) and Shay McMillen (36), while Katie Quick averaged 10.10 assists per set and Jasmine Dulan scooped 5.10 digs per frame.
  • Dulan continues to lead The Valley, and rank inside the top five in Division I, with 458 total digs this season while averaging 5.45 digs per set. 
  • UIC swept the weekend with a pair of straight-set victories over Valparaiso and Indiana State. The Flames have won six of their last seven Conference matches and currently hold a 6-4 ledger in league play. 
  • Indiana State outlasted Valparaiso in five sets on Saturday, earning its second Conference win of the season. The victory marked the Sycamores’ first win against the Beacons since 2021. Hadley Hardersen dished out a career-high 37 assists in the win, surpassing the 30-assist threshold in a match for the first time in her collegiate career.  
  • For just the second time in the last decade, and first time since 2021, five Racers reached double-digit kills in Saturday’s win over Southern Illinois. Additionally, setter Paige Brock turned in a career performance, finishing with 54 assists and 16 digs.
  • Illinois State’s win over Southern Illinois marked the 150th career victory for head coach Allie Matters. Prior to Saturday’s loss, the Redbirds had 16 wins in their first 20 matches for the first time since the 1998 team also opened 16-4. 
  • As a team, UNI leads The Valley in assists per set (13.24), digs per set (17.50) and kills per set (14.25), while ranking inside the top six in Division I in each category. 
  • The Panthers are holding their opponents to a .130 hitting percentage, trailing only Nebraska (.100) in the national rankings. Fourteen of UNI’s 21 opponents have hit at or below .130 this season.