OMAHA, Neb. — The UNI volleyball team’s historic 2025 season came to an end on Friday night as the Panthers fell to No. 11 and third-seeded Creighton in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in four sets at D.J. Sokol Arena.

In a non-conference rematch from September’s Bluejay Invitational, Northern Iowa was able to split the first two sets with Creighton, but came up short in two hotly contested final frame, finishing the season with a 25-6 record, as well as both the Missouri Valley Conference’s (MVC) regular season and tournament titles.

 

HOW IT HAPPENED

UNI put together a competitive start to the match splitting the first 12 points of the match. The Bluejays would build their lead from there, slicing through the Panther backrow defense on .441 hitting 17 kills. Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra each notched five terminations for Northern Iowa in the frame with the Panthers hitting .231 with 15 kills as a team, dropping the first set by a score of 25-18.

The Panthers responded with a gritty showing in the second stanza, grabbing an early 5-1 lead thanks to a service ace from Dykstra. Creighton would chip away at UNI’s lead with the Panthers narrowly maintaining a one-point lead in a hotly contested back-and-forth set before the Bluejays tied the frame up at 20 and 21. Northern Iowa would finish strong however and hold on for a 25-23 win to even the match at one set a piece, with Dykstra notching eight kills and Hartman six terminations with the Panthers hitting .325 as a team.

Both UNI and Creighton swamped points early in the third set before the Panthers pulled ahead with a 10-6 lead, as well as 14-8 using a 4-0 run. The Bluejays would storm back attacking off of the Northern Iowa blocking defense for a 16-15 advantage, but the Panthers would show fight, taking a 20-18 lead on a block assist from Dykstra and Maryn Bixby. Creighton would prevail late however, scoring six of the final seven points for a 25-22 win and a two sets to one lead, despite a strong four kill set by Isabelle Elliott for the Panthers.

Creighton set an early tone in the fourth frame with a 3-0 run to open as UNI struggled to get into a rhythm offensively. The Panthers would begin to climb back with a 6-0 run to pull within one point at 18-17, but the Bluejays would close strong for a 25-21 victory to seal the match in four frames, with Hartman tallying seven kills in the final set

Hartman finished the night with a team-high 20 kills and 13 digs, with Dykstra tallying 15 terminations and seven digs. Elliott notched ten kills as Bixby posted seven terminations and four kills by Lindsay Oldendorf. Reese Booth finished with 22 assists and 16 digs, while Sydney Golden posted 20 assists and nine digs and Jadyn Petersen 14 digs.

“We put ourselves in a position to win and have a chance tonight and they left their heart and soul out there,” said head coach Bobbi Petersen. “One of the things that you wish for coaching is when you step out on the court for the last match of the season that you’re playing your best volleyball and I feel we get to say that tonight. The day we stepped on the court in January to now the amount of growth and the amount of intentional effort that has gone into this team has been incredible.”

 

ADDITIONAL NOTES

• UNI falls to 42-18 all-time against Creighton with the Bluejays winning their ninth straight match in the series. Northern Iowa is also now 0-2 against Creighton in the NCAA Tournament, the last meeting coming in the first round in 2016.
• The Panthers are now 18-27 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches following Friday’s loss.
• Northern Iowa’s loss snaps its 22-match winning streak, the eighth-longest streak in program history. UNI last loss prior to Friday night came against Creighton in September in the Bluejay Invitational
• Cassidy Hartman notched her fifth match of the season with 20+ kills, as well as her 27th match this year with ten or more terminations and her 15th double-double of 2025.
• Lily Dykstra posted her 19th match this year with double-digit kills.
• Reese Booth recorded her tenth double-double of the season on Friday.

 

UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2025 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.

MENU

• 
  
  
• 
  
  
  
  
• 
  
  

• 
  

ACCOUNT

SECTIONS

OTHER

CLASSIFIEDS

CONTACT US / FAQ

OMAHA, Neb. — Tenth-seeded and 11th-ranked Creighton Volleyball is headed back to the Regional Semifinals for the third straight season, and fifth time overall, after a hard-fought 3-1 win over former Missouri Valley Conference rival Northern Iowa on Friday, Dec. 5th. Scores of the CU victory were 25-18, 23-25, 25-22, 25-21.

Creighton never trailed in the first set, turning an 8-7 lead into a 13-8 advantage. CU continued to pull away, taking an 18-11 lead as Abbey Hayes provided an early boost with four kills.  CU poured it on, taking the first set 25-18 on Hayes’ fifth kill. Creighton hit .441 en route to winning the first set for its 22nd straight match. BIG EAST Setter of the Year Annalea Maeder dished a dozen assists and added four digs, two kills and added a block.

UNI didn’t waste any time fighting back, taking a 9-4 lead to open the second set. Creighton’s slow comeback was aided by five UNI serving errors in the set. CU drew within one point on eight occasions before finally tying the score on an ace by Hayes to make it 20-20. CU also tied it at 21-all, but both times sent their next serve into the net as UNI regained the lead. The Panthers went up 23-21 and 24-22 on Cassidy Hartman’s 10th and 11th kills, and won  it 25-23 after Lily Dykstra’s kill withstood a CU challenge to even the match. Dykstra had eight kills and Hartman six in the second frame to pace a Panther attack that had 18 kills in 40 swings. 

The third set featured the first lead change of the match when UNI took a 4-3 lead, part of a 12-5 run that saw CU call both of its timeouts and the Panthers take a 14-8 lead. CU used the right arm of All-American Ava Martin to take a 16-15 lead after four straight kills from the BIG EAST Player of the Year. The set would feature nine ties and four lead changes before CU ultimately prevailed, 25-22. Back-to-back blocks by Eloise Brandewie and Jaya Johnson gave CU a 24-21 lead and a Panther service error handed the Jays a 2-1 lead.

The fourth set saw Creighton race out to an early 3-0 lead and did not release it, taking the match 25-21. While Creighton did not trail in the decisive fourth stanza, Northern Iowa pulled even and 5-5 with four of five points. Holding an 11-9 edge, the Bluejays seemed to take complete control with six straight points by forcing the Panthers into four attack errors during the run. Down 17-9 UNI responded with eight of the next nine points to make it a one-point contest at 18-17. Moments later the Bluejays put things away with four straight points, courtesy of consecutive blocks, an ace from Nora Wurtz and a kill from Martin.

Four Bluejays closed the match with double-digit kills, led by 16 from Martin. Joining the double-digit party were Hayes (12), Johnson (11) and Kiara Reinhardt (10). Maeder guided the Creighton offense with 47 assists and 14 digs, while Sydney Breissinger owned a match-best 19 digs and also served up a pair of aces. CU had 55 kills, 66 digs, 13 blocks and five aces on .265 hitting.

Northern Iowa got a match-high 21 kills from Hartman, to go along with 15 kills from Dykstra and 10 from Isabelle Elliott. The guiding force for the Panthers brought a familiar name back to D.J. Sokol Arena as Reese Booth (the daughter of former Bluejay head coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth) finished with a double-double of 22 assists and 16 digs. UNI had 62 kills, 70 digs, five blocks and three aces on .241 hitting. The unbeaten regular-season and tournament champion out of the Missouri Valley Conference, Northern Iowa finishes its season with a 26-6 record.

With the win, Creighton will play Arizona State in the Regional Semifinal. A date, time, location and broadcast plans will be announced later this weekend.

NOTES: Creighton has played Northern Iowa more times (60) than any other foe … Kiara Reinhardt set the D.J. Sokol Arena career blocks record with her 250th career rejection late in the first set … Reinhardt also extended her career records by making her 65th start and playing in her 69th career match at D.J. Sokol Arena … Ava Martin set the D.J. Sokol Arena career record for kills with her 781, passing Jaali Winters’ 779. … After winning just four of the first 43 meetings, Creighton has beaten Northern Iowa nine straight meetings and 15 of the last 17 encounters … CU’s 15 wins vs. UNI since 2012 are four more than any other school … Creighton is 12-1 all-time when ranked and facing UNI … CU has won 69 straight matches against unranked teams and 57 straight non-televised contests … Creighton improved to 19-14 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, and 5-7 in the Second Round … Creighton has won 27 or more matches each of the last five years, and nine times in program history … Creighton has won 22 straight matches and snapped UNI’s 22-match win streak, which started after its Sept. 14 loss to CU in Omaha … The late ace in the fourth set for Nora Wurtz gave her 36 this season in D.J. Sokol Arena, a mark that is the single season record … Martin closed the match with a season-high 14 digs, her fourth double-double of the season.