ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University has become a regular at the NAIA Women's Volleybal National Championship over the past decade and 2023 is no different as the Spartans will be making their 10th straight appearance on Saturday and their 15th appearance all-time. The eighth-ranked Spartan squad is set to host University of Mobile (Ala.) on Saturday at 1 p.m. as a part of 24 NAIA Opening Round matchups on campus sites across the country.

Missouri Baptist earned an automatic berth as the American Midwest Conference regular-season champion, but was well positioned regardless of the outcome in the conference tournament having been ranked in the Top 10 all season long.

The Spartans' opponent, University of Mobile, earned the second of two Southern States Athletic Conference automatic bids as the tournament runner-up. SSAC foe Blue Mountain Christian, who the Spartans faced in the Opening Round two years ago, swept the Rams in the tournament final last weekend. Because Blue Mountain Christian also won the regular season title, Mobile secured the league's other bid.

This will be just the second all-time meeting between the two teams with the lone matchup coming in 2019. Mobile swept then-No. 4 MBU at the Evangel University Tournament [27-25, 25-21, 25-19], although the Spartans had limited players available at the time due to injuries and eligibility at the beginning of the season.

How to Follow
Live Stats: https://statb.us/b/496609
Live Video: Spartan Digital Network

Ticket Information
Advanced Purchase Online: Adult = $8
Advanced Purchase Online: Youth/Student = $5
At the Door: Adult = $10
At the Door : Youth/Student = $8

MBU Clear Bag Policy
Link – https://mbuspartans.com/documents/2023/9/23/MBU_Athletics_Clear_Bag_Policy.pdf

Missouri Baptist in the NAIA National Championships

• The Spartans are 43-25 all-time in NAIA Championship play
• MBU has won two of the past three national championships winning back-to-back in 2020-21 and 2021
• MBU has made it out of Pool Play and into at least the Round of 16 in eight of the past nine seasons
• Last year, moved to 5-0 all-time in Opening Round matches with a 3-0 sweep of Bryan College

Mobile in the NAIA National Championships

• Mobile is making its ninth NAIA National appearance
• The Rams are 6-13 overall in NAIA Championship play
• Mobile is 3-0 when playing Opening Round at home versus 0-4 when playing on the road ; lost past three Opening Rounds in 2017, 2020, and 2022
• The Rams were sent to La Grande, Oregon, West Palm Beach, Florida, and Prescott, Arizona in their three previous Opening Round trips
• Advanced to the Final Site in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2016

Common Opponents

• The Spartans and Rams both attended Keiser University's Vipers Sports Academy Classic in August, but did not get paired up
• Common opponents in 2023 were Ave Maria (Fla.), Campbellsville (Ky.), and Life (Ga.) – Mobile went 2-1 against common foes while MBU went 3-0