ST. LOUIS –  No. 17 Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball gears up for the Conway Clash at Maryville University on Wednesday, Oct. 1, before resuming conference play at Missouri Valley College on Saturday, Oct. 4.
 
The Spartans enter play at 15-4 overall and 7-1 in the Heart of America Athletic Conference. They head into Wednesday looking to bounce back after a 1-1 week last weekend, led by the conference Defender of the Week Fernanda Perini, who won the award for the fourth time this season.
 
Perini is currently fifth in the nation with 89 total blocks and ninth in the NAIA with 1.31 blocks per set to lead the MBU defense. Gabi Jakubowska and Allana Capella continue to pace the offense with 3.89 kills per set and 3.35 kills per set, respectively. From the service line, the Spartans have four with 25 aces or more this season including Jakubowska, Capella, Julia Reis Pereira, and Valentina Navarro.
 
MBU will play at Maryville on Wednesday for another addition of the Conway Clash at 7 p.m. The Spartans are 13-1 against the Saints since 2009, including a four-set victory in 2024. They will then head to Marshall, Mo., on Saturday for a 7 p.m. start against the Vikings.
 
Maryville enters Wednesday's contest at 5-7 overall and 1-1 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (NCAA DII). They are led by senior Ella Brinkmann, who has a team-high 3.17 kills per set and a .215 percentage. They are coming off a pair of conference games last weekend, where they lost in four sets at Truman State University and were swept on the road at Upper Iowa University.
 
The Vikings head into Friday's matchup at 9-9 overall and 3-5 in the Heart. The attack is led by Juliana Oliveira with 2.52 kills per set and Laura Tavares with a .265 percentage. MVC's four-game win streak was snapped by Mid-America Nazarene University on Sept. 20 in a road sweep.