ST. LOUIS – Missouri Baptist University men's volleyball kicks off their season on Friday, Jan. 31, at home against St. Ambrose University to open the Heart of America Challenge. The Spartans co-host the eight-team tournament and continue play on Feb. 1, in a pair of contests against Governor's State University and Brescia University at the University of Health Sciences & Pharmacy.
The Spartans were ranked No. 11 in the
NAIA Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches Top 15 Poll after going 22-8 overall last season and 11-7 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. MBU was matched up with 11th-ranked Missouri Valley College in the 2024 Heart Men's Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals, where they fell in four sets on the road.
Head Coach
Tom Young returned several key pieces from the core in 2024, including the reigning Libero of the Year
Marko Jovanovic, All-Conference Second Team selection Veljko Culibrk, and All-Conference Honorable Mention David Rudic. The Spartans were third in the nation last season with 2.34 service aces per set and in points per set at 16.9.
Key departures from last
year's roster include the Heart Co-Freshman of the Year Aleksa Mandic and Heart First-Team selection Auston Bonte, who joined the MBU coaching staff for this season.
The Spartans have 13 home dates on the calendar and are back home after the HOA Challenge
on Feb. 11, to open conference play against Missouri Valley. They play at NCAA Division II school Maryville University on Feb. 4, at 7 p.m., to kick off the road schedule.
The conference tournament quarterfinals begin on Saturday,
April 12, hosted by the highest seed. The tournament concludes on Saturday, April 19. The NAIA National Championship Tournament begins
on Tuesday, April 29.
Follow Along with the Season:
Twitter/X: @MBUVolleyball
Instagram: @mbuvolleyball
Live Stream: SpartanDigitalNetwork.com
