Four teams from Maranatha will travel south over the course of the next two weekend to compete at the NCCAA DII National Championships. After two national titles, a runner-up, and a third-place finish in 2015, the teams will be eager to etch their names on this year's list of NCCAA champions.

Cross Country Preview

• Date: November 12
• Host: Belhaven University | Jackson, Miss.
• Venue: Choctaw Trails (Directions)
• Schedule: (Click here)
  • 10:00 AM (EST) | Men's 8K
  • 11:00 AM (EST) | Women's 5K
• Championship Website: (Click here)
• Tickets: $5 per vehicle

In the 2015 season, the Men's squad took home the banner for the second consecutive year after the squad had the best meet of the season. This year, the Sabercats will look to compete with the favorited Bruins of Bob Jones University and the Ambassadors of Ozark Christian College, whose times this season have been superior to the Sabercats'.

Josh Kruit and Cameron Rankin have led the Sabercats' squad for the most part this season, as they posted 30:22 and 30:24 times, respectively, at the Lucian Rosa Invitational on October 8th.

The Women's squad finished third last year behind Moody Bible Institute and Johnson University. This year, either Moody or Bob Jones are favorited to take home the banner, but the Sabercats will look to challenge that idea.

So far, Katie Holbrook has posted the best 5K time with her 19:57 split at the Lucian Rosa Invitational in early October.

Women's Soccer Preview

• Dates: November 18-19
• Location: Kissimmee, Fla.
• Venue: Austin-Tindall Soccer Complex (Directions)
• Seedings, Teams, Region, Records: 
  • #1 Bob Jones University (South | 12-6)
  • #2 Grace Bible College (Mideast | 13-6)
  • #3 Maranatha Baptist University (North | 6-7-1) 
  • #4 Randall University (Soutwest | 7-8-1)
• Schedule: (Click here)
  • Friday, 11/18 | 7:30 PM | MBU vs Grace Bible
  • Saturday, 11/19 | 2:00 PM (3rd-Place Game) or 7:00 PM (Championship)
• Live Coverage: (Click here)  
• Tickets: (Click here)

Last year, the Sabercats shut out Randall 5-0 and North Central 1-0 to advance to the National Championship against Bob Jones. In an intense 90-minute match, Bob Jones won the title by a score of 1-0, marking the second consecutive year that the Sabercats had fallen to an opponent from the South Region in the championship match.

The Sabercats have made it this far without conceding a single goal in NCCAA play, as they have outscored their opponents by an aggregate 19-0 over the course of four games.

Up until this year and the new NCCAA regional alignment, the Sabercats were accustomed to facing off with Grace Bible in order to get to Nationals. This will mark the first time that the familiar rivals have met at the national stage.

Volleyball Preview

• Dates: November 17-19
• Location: Kissimmee, Fla.
• Venue: Kissimee Civic Center (Directions)
• Seedings, Teams, Records: 
  • #1 Maranatha Baptist University (North | 20-5)
  • #2 Providence University College (At-Large | 18-3)
  • #3 Kentucky Christian University (Mideast | 21-11)
  • #4 Randall University (Southwest | 17-11) 
  • #5 Bob Jones University (South | 23-10)
  • #6 Arlington Baptist College (At-Large | 13-13)
  • #7 Manhattan Christian College (At-Large | 17-8)
  • #8 Grace Bible College (At-Large | 14-12)
• Schedule: (Click here)
  • Thursday, 11/17 | 12:00 PM | MBU vs Grace Bible
  • Thursday, 11/17 | 4:00 PM | MBU vs Bob Jones
  • Friday, 11/18 | 10:00 AM | MBU vs Randall
  • Friday, 11/18 | 5:30/7:30 PM | Semifinal
  • Saturday, 11/19 | 1:00 PM | Championship Match
• Live Coverage: (Click here)
• Tickets: (Click here)

The Sabercats are the reigning NCCAA National Champions, as they produced a memorable run last  year to win six consecutive matches at nationals without dropping a set. 

2015's championship match was against the Pilots of Providence University College, and the Sabercats have met them already this year at the North Region championship match when they edged the Pilots 3-2 in a championship thriller.

The Sabercats hold the #1 seed going into the tournament, and are grouped with #4 Randall, #5 Bob Jones, and #8 Grace Bible.

For more on the NCCAA including national rankings, statistics, and more, visit the NCCAA website:

www.thenccaa.org