Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Nov. 2)

Player of the Week: Lily Dykstra, Northern Iowa
Defensive Player of the Week: Chloe Anderson, Southern Illinois
Libero of the Week: Mya Bolton, Belmont

UNI senior Lily Dykstra delivered a dominant performance at the net, averaging 5.00 kills per set while helping the Panthers earn a pair of 3-1 road victories over Indiana State and Evansville. Dykstra recorded back-to-back 20-kill performances, finishing the weekend with 40 kills and a .436 hitting percentage on 78 attempts with just six errors. She hit an impressive .514 against Indiana State, adding 12 digs to record her fifth double-double of the season. Against Evansville, Dykstra contributed four blocks and three assists to help UNI extend its winning streak to 14 matches. Her standout weekend also helped the Panthers secure a top-three seed for the MVC Tournament. Dykstra ranks second in the conference with 4.23 kills per set.

Southern Illinois redshirt junior Chloe Anderson anchored the Salukis' defense at the net with an outstanding 12-block performance across two matches. Anderson recorded six kills and 12.5 points during the weekend, helping SIU split its matches against Bradley and Illinois State. She set a new career high with nine blocks in Saturday's five-set victory over Illinois State, providing a major defensive presence as the Salukis earned a hard-fought conference win. Anderson's performance against the Redbirds highlighted her ability to disrupt opposing attacks and make a difference in crucial moments. Her combination of blocking production and net presence made her a key contributor to SIU's weekend performance.

Belmont junior libero Mya Bolton turned in an exceptional defensive weekend, totaling 46 digs and averaging 5.11 digs per set as the Bruins earned wins over Drake and UIC. Bolton recorded a career-high 33 digs in Belmont's four-set victory over Drake, leading the match and all NCAA Division I players in digs on Friday night. She added two service aces and an assist in that performance before leading the Bruins with 13 digs and contributing another service ace in Saturday's five-set win over UIC. Bolton finished the weekend with 46 digs, three service aces and one assist across the two victories. She continues to lead Belmont with 368 digs and 25 service aces this season while ranking third on the team with 73 assists. Bolton also ranks fifth in the Missouri Valley Conference in digs.

Conference News & Notes

  • Six of the Missouri Valley Conference volleyball programs are at or above .500 with two weekends left to play. UNI leads The Valley standings with an untouched 12-0 record, while Belmont maintains control of second place with an 11-1 record. Illinois State is currently 8-4, while Bradley and Drake are tied at 7-5. UIC rounds out the top half of the league standings, sitting at 6-6.
  • Belmont continued its winning ways, earning two more over the weekend to extend its streak to six straight. The Bruins’ 11-1 ledger in league play is the best start to a Conference season in program history, as six of their 11 victories have come in straight sets. 
  • Northern Iowa extended its program and MVC record conference winning streak (for regular season and postseason matches) to 72 with Saturday’s win over Evansville, the longest active streak in Division I and passing Nebraska’s 1982-87 Big Eight Conference streak for the ninth-longest in Division I history.
  • UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen is one win shy of her 400th career win in MVC regular-season matches. Additionally, she is the sixth active winningest coach in Division I with 653 career victories.
  • Valparaiso bounced back from a Friday night loss with a sweep of Bradley on Saturday behind a balanced effort. It marked the Beacons’ first sweep of the Braves in Peoria since 2017. Ava Helming led the way for Valpo, posting her ninth double-double of the year with 10 kills and a match-high 15 digs. She is just two kills away from becoming the 21st player in program history to hit the 1,000-kill milestone.
  • Southern Illinois ended its losing skid with a five-set road victory over Illinois State. The Salukis’ win was highlighted by several career highs. Ella Swansiger registered a match-high 24 kills to go with eight digs, while Chloe Anderson added nine blocks. Alexandra Arrington hit career highs in three different categories -  kills (5), assists (27) and digs (16). 
  • Drake closed the weekend and its roadtrip with a 3-2 win over Murray State on Saturday. The Bulldogs are 6-1 in five setters this season, and have won four of their last five matches. Libero Jasmine Dulan continues to lead The Valley in digs (496), averaging a league-best 5.33 digs per set, while ranking inside the top five nationally in both categories.
  • Indiana State’s straight-set win over Evansville on Friday marked the Sycamores’ first sweep of a Conference opponent since 2024. Indiana State limited Evansville to a .129 hitting percentage, tied for the lowest mark by a Sycamore opponent this season. On the flip side, the Sycamores hit a season-best .363, hitting above .300 in a match for the first time this year. 
  • Murray State’s Lily Evans posted back-to-back career outings as the Racers went 1-1, including a sweep of UIC. Against the Flames, Evans paced the Racers with 14 kills and a .722 hitting percentage, marking the ninth-best hitting percentage in program history (for a player with at least 10 kills). On the very next night, Evans once again led the way for Murray State, posting a new career-high with 20 kills on .341 hitting.
  • In Illinois State’s four-set win over Valpo, four Redbirds finished with double-digits kills, led by a career-high 17 kills from Emilija Arsic. Arsic added eight digs and hit at a .310 clip, marking her third double-figure kill outing of the season and eighth of her collegiate career.
  • Bradley outlasted Southern Illinois, besting the Salukis in five sets, behind Gracie Furlong’s 21 kills. Setter Maria Drapp delivered a standout performance with 56 assists and a career-high 32 digs.