Volleyball

MVC Volleyball Weekly Notebook (Nov. 9)

Player of the Week: Cassidy Hartman, Northern Iowa
Defensive Player of the Week: Reese Booth, Northern Iowa
Libero of the Week: Eirini Bitsaktsi, Bradley

Cassidy Hartman led Northern Iowa's offensive attack as the Panthers secured their fifth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship with a pair of sweeps over Belmont and Southern Illinois. The senior outside hitter averaged 5.3 kills per set while hitting .333, totaling 32 kills across the two victories. Hartman recorded a weekend-high 21 kills on .364 hitting against Southern Illinois, marking her sixth 20-plus kill performance of the season. She also delivered a career-high four service aces against Belmont, including three consecutive aces in the third set, and posted double-doubles in both matches. Hartman added 26 digs on the weekend, including 14 against Belmont, and moved into 13th place on UNI's all-time kills list with 1,265 career terminations. She continues to lead the MVC with 4.34 kills per set and ranks second in the conference in total kills this season with 373. Her efforts helped the Panthers extend their conference winning streak to 74 matches and their regular-season MVC winning streak to 66, both the longest active streaks in Division I volleyball.

Reese Booth played a pivotal role on both sides of the ball as Northern Iowa swept Belmont and Southern Illinois to capture its fifth consecutive Missouri Valley Conference regular-season championship. The junior setter averaged 11.7 assists and 4.6 digs per set, recording double-doubles in both matches. Booth distributed 70 assists over the weekend, including 37 against Belmont and 33 against Southern Illinois, while adding 28 digs and three service aces. She recorded 13 digs against Belmont and a weekend-high 15 against Southern Illinois, providing a steady defensive presence throughout both sweeps. Booth has now recorded double-doubles in 16 of her last 20 matches.

Eirini Bitsaktsi anchored Bradley's defensive effort during a perfect 2-0 week in Missouri Valley Conference play, helping the Braves earn four-set victories over Illinois State and UIC. The sophomore libero led Bradley with 40 digs, averaging 5.0 per set, while adding eight service aces and seven assists across the two victories. Bitsaktsi opened the week with a match-high 17 digs, three service aces and four assists in Bradley's rivalry win over Illinois State. She followed with another outstanding performance against UIC, recording a match-high 23 digs and a season-best five service aces, accounting for nearly half of Bradley's 11 aces in the victory. She led the Braves in both digs and service aces in each match and was especially effective from the service line, recording eight aces without a service error across 37 attempts. Bitsaktsi's consistent back-row presence and impact from the service line were instrumental in Bradley's undefeated conference week.

Conference News & Notes

  • With a sweep of SIU, Northern Iowa captured its fifth-straight regular-season title on Saturday, and 24th in program history, to earn the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MVC Tournament.
  • UNI’s 24 regular-season championships, and 19 outright titles, are the most in league history ahead of Illinois State (12) and Missouri State (7). The Panthers’ regular-season crown is their 14th under head coach Bobbi Petersen, who earned her 400th-career MVC win on Friday evening. 
  • Entering the final week of the regular-season, five teams still have a shot at grabbing the last available spot in the 2026 MVC Volleyball Championship field. 
  • Two more wins this weekend would give the Panthers their fourth-straight undefeated season in Valley play. Additionally, UNI would extend its regular-season Conference win streak to 68 matches - the longest active streak in Division I. 
  • Bradley picked up a pair of four-set wins over Illinois State and UIC, moving into a tie for third-place in the MVC standings. Maria Drapp posted a pair of double-doubles, while Gracie Furlong led the Braves in kills. Both players lead the league in their respective statistical categories. 
  • Drake’s Caroline Smith led the Bulldogs offensively, as they earned two more MVC wins over the weekend. She averaged 4.50 kills per set, while hitting at a .277 clip, and added eight digs and four blocks across the two outings. Her 21-kill outing in Drake’s win over Southern Illinois marked her second 20-plus kill performance of the season.
  • Valparaiso extended its win streak to three matches with a pair of wins over Indiana State and Evansville. In the first set against the Sycamores, junior Ava Helming became the 21st player in program history to hit the 1,000-career kill milestone, before moving into 19th after finishing the weekend with 20 total. 
  • Indiana State went 1-1 on the weekend, bouncing back from a five-set loss to Valpo to sweep Murray State on Saturday. In the setback to the Beacons, Curry Kendall delivered seven aces behind the service line, which is tied for the most by a Sycamore in the 25-point rally scoring era and tied for the third overall in a match in program history. 
  • Illinois State rallied in a four-set win on Senior Night against UIC to remain tied for third in the MVC standings. The Redbirds had 11 aces in the match, marking the seventh time this season that Illinois State has delivered double-digit service aces. It also marked the third-most in a match since 1994. 
  • Murray State opened its week with a 3-1 win over Evansville, collecting its fourth Conference win of the year. As a team, the Racers hit a season-best .347 in the match, with five players reaching double-figure kills. 
  • Northern Iowa leads the MVC, and ranks inside the top six nationally, in assists per set (13.33), digs per set (17.40) and kills per set (14.31), while holding opponents to the second-lowest hitting percentage in Division I at .134. 
  • Drake’s Jasmine Dulan continues to lead The Valley with 527 total digs - the fifth-most in Division I. She is the only player in the league averaging over 5.00 digs per frame this season, sitting at 5.22 per set - the fourth-most nationally.