FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 15, 2014
Contact: Tyler Price, Assistant Director of Athletics | Communications
NAIA Men’s Volleyball Sports Information Director
785.594.8495 l [email protected] l 913.645.4111
ST. LOUIS, Mo. – The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Men’s Volleyball search committee has announced that the 2015 and 2016 NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Invitational Tournament Championships presented by Tachikara will be hosted by Missouri Baptist University in St. Louis, Mo., and will take place at the Carl and Deloris Petty Sports and Recreation Complex on the MBU campus.
The tournament will be held from Apr. 23-25 in 2015 and Apr. 21-23 in 2016. This marks the first time the national tournament has been held in the state of Missouri since Park University hosted in 2008 and 2009. Park won the national title in 2008 and Lindenwood (St. Charles, Mo.) won in 2009.
“We are excited to bring the NAIA Men’s Volleyball National Invitational Tournament back to St. Louis and the Midwest,” said Bruce Billingsley, NAIA Men’s Volleyball Commissioner. “We feel that Missouri Baptist will offer a first-class experience for our student-athletes, coaches and fans.
“The St. Louis area has rich traditions for both boy’s and men’s volleyball. We look forward to an event that will highlight the high caliber of competition that NAIA Men’s Volleyball has to offer.”
The tournament was also hosted in the state of Missouri when Lindenwood was the tournament host in 2002 and 2005.
The event consists of six teams with Missouri Baptist earning an automatic bid as the host institution. Other teams competing are the winners of the NAIA North, NAIA South, NAIA Great Lakes and NAIA National Tournament championships and one at-large bid.
Many of the top NAIA men’s volleyball teams will have a chance to compete on MBU’s home floor before the national tournament during the regular season, as they host the 2015 Spartan Invitational on Mar. 20-21. The following teams will participate in that event: Missouri Baptist, Park (Mo.), Grand View (Iowa), St. Ambrose (Iowa), Lourdes (Ohio) and Concordia-Irvine (Calif.).
All ticket information will be announced at a later date and can be found at www.naiamvb.com and www.mbuspartans.com.
“We are extremely excited to be hosting the NAIA National Invitational for 2015 and 2016,” said John Yehling, Missouri Baptist head men’s volleyball coach. “We are looking forward to showing off the great facilities that Missouri Baptist University has to offer and putting on a great show for the local volleyball community as well. We would like to thank the selection committee, the Missouri Baptist University administration, and the MBU Sports Information department for their support and hard work to help bring this event to our campus.”
-NAIAMVB-
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