ST. LOUIS — Five Top-20 NAIA women's volleyball programs square off in St. Louis this week at the MBU Spartan Invitational, hosted by Missouri Baptist University, from Wednesday, August 20, through Friday, August 22, at the Carl & Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex.

Participating teams include No. 3 Corban University, No. 9 St. Thomas University, No. 16 Viterbo University, No. 19 Missouri Baptist University, and No. 20 Midland University.

Missouri Baptist begins tournament play Wednesday at 2 p.m. against Viterbo, followed by a match against St. Thomas at 7 p.m. The Spartans concluded the 2024 season with a 26-11 record, reaching the NAIA National Tournament Pool Play, where they went 1-1. The Spartans joined the Heart of America Athletic Conference in 2025 after winning the American Midwest Conference Regular Season and Tournament Championships in 2024.

Viterbo concluded 2024 with a 26-11 record and a Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship.  The V-Hawks return several contributors from last season and look to make an even deeper postseason run in 2025 after going 0-2 in NAIA Pool Play. 

St. Thomas enters the event with a 2-0 record in 2025 after going 33-1 in 2024. They came up short in the NAIA Quarterfinals in a loss to the eventual national champion Indiana Wesleyan University Wildcats. The Bobcats are averaging 13.5 kills and 12.5 assists per set, with a team hitting percentage of .309. Setter Payton Bertke has started the new campaign strong with 22 assists in a sweep of Reinhardt University and 38 assists in a three-set win over Point University.

Midland posted an 18-13 record in 2024 and is ranked No. 20. The Warriors fell in the Great Plains Athletic Conference semifinals last season, defeated Dakota State University in the NAIA Opening Round, and dropped a pair of games in the NAIA National Pool Play.  

Corban, ranked No. 3, has appeared in 48 consecutive national polls. The Warriors lost in the Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament semifinals but rebounded with four straight wins in the NAIA National Tournament before losing to Bellevue University in the national semifinals.

Sandwiched between MBU's Friday games against Viterbo and St. Thomas at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. is a match-up between the V-Hawks and the Bobcats at 4:30 p.m.

Thursday's schedule has four neutral-site matches, including Midland vs. Viterbo at 10 a.m., Corban vs. St. Thomas at noon, Corban vs. Viterbo at 2:30 p.m., and Midland vs. St. Thomas at 4:30 p.m.

Friday opens with MBU vs. Midland at 10 a.m., followed by Corban vs. Midland and MBU vs. Corban.

All matches will be held in the Carl & Deloris Petty SRC in St. Louis, with live stats available and a live stream through the Urban Edge Network.

For more information about the tournament, click here.