ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Missouri Baptist University women's volleyball vaulted into the national spotlight this week, climbing eight spots to No. 11 in the first regular-season edition of the NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top-25 Poll, released Wednesday by the NAIA national office.
The Spartans (8-2) collected 333 points in the rankings after earning key wins against ranked and receiving-votes opponents. Highlighting their nonconference slate was a five-set victory over then-No. 3 Corban (Ore.), while MBU also defeated No. 16 Viterbo University, No. 9 St. Thomas University, (RV) Indiana Tech, St. Francis (Ill.), and No. 14 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio). Their only losses came to No. 20 Midland (Neb.) and (RV) Taylor (Ind.).
MBU has leaned on an efficient, balanced attack.
Gabi Jakubowska leads with 157 kills (4.76/set), while
Allana Capella adds 125 kills (3.47/set). Setter
Valentina Navarro has orchestrated the offense with 383 assists (10.64/set), and
Fernanda Perini anchors the net defense with 44 blocks (1.26/set). Collectively, the Spartans are hitting .248 while holding opponents to just .148, and average 13.3 kills and 13.6 digs per set.
At the top of the poll, Eastern Oregon (8-0) rose to No. 1 for the first time since 2022, earning 17 first-place votes and 507 points. Concordia (Neb.), Bellevue (Neb.), Corban (Ore.), and Providence (Mont.) round out the top five.
NAIA Women's Volleyball Coaches' Top-25 Poll — Sept. 3, 2025 (Poll No. 1)
| Rank |
Previous |
School |
Record |
Points |
| 1 |
5 |
Eastern Oregon |
8-0 |
507 |
| 2 |
4 |
Concordia (Neb.) |
7-1 |
484 |
| 3 |
2 |
Bellevue (Neb.) |
4-1 |
475 |
| 4 |
3 |
Corban (Ore.) |
6-1 |
471 |
| 5 |
10 |
Providence (Mont.) |
7-1 |
417 |
| 6 |
7 |
Northwestern (Iowa) |
6-2 |
410 |
| 7 |
1 |
Indiana Wesleyan |
4-3 |
409 |
| 8 |
13 |
Oklahoma Wesleyan |
6-1 |
369 |
| 9 |
11 |
McPherson (Kan.) |
8-1 |
353 |
| 10 |
18 |
College of Idaho |
6-1 |
338 |
| 11 |
19 |
Missouri Baptist |
8-2 |
333 |
| 12 |
16 |
Viterbo (Wis.) |
4-4 |
298 |
| 13 |
9 |
St. Thomas (Fla.) |
6-3 |
295 |
| 14 |
23 |
The Master's (Calif.) |
7-1 |
290 |
| 15 |
14 |
Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) |
6-3 |
232 |
| 16 |
22 |
Marian (Ind.) |
8-1 |
231 |
| 17 |
20 |
Midland (Neb.) |
4-5 |
213 |
| 18 |
8 |
IU Kokomo (Ind.) |
5-4 |
206 |
| 19 |
6 |
Southern Oregon |
3-4 |
156 |
| 20 |
RV |
Cumberlands (Ky.) |
7-0 |
153 |
| 21 |
17 |
Montana Tech |
4-2 |
135 |
| 22 |
RV |
Taylor (Ind.) |
9-3 |
84 |
| 23 |
RV |
Spring Arbor (Mich.) |
12-0 |
83 |
| 24 |
RV |
Dakota State (S.D.) |
4-0 |
80 |
| 24 |
15 |
Aquinas (Mich.) |
5-3 |
80 |
Receiving Votes: Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 74; Carroll (Mont.) 70; William Carey (Miss.) 52; Morningside (Iowa) 49; Mobile (Ala.) 48; Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 42; Grand View (Iowa) 37; Cumberland (Tenn.) 36; Montana Western 33; Central Methodist (Mo.) 23; Nelson (Texas) 20; MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.) 19; Northwest (Wash.) 17; Oregon Tech 16; Texas Wesleyan 16; Lewis-Clark State (Idaho) 15; Park (Mo.) 12; Cornerstone (Mich.) 12; CIU (S.C.) 10; Indiana Tech 8; Valley City State (N.D.) 5; Columbia (Mo.) 5; Bethel (Kan.) 4; Grace (Ind.) 2.
Missouri Baptist opens its inaugural Heart of America Athletic Conference schedule on Saturday, Sept. 6, in an 11 a.m. contest at Graceland University.
