DENVER – Every year, the Colorado Premier Challenge is one of the best NCAA Division II volleyball tournaments in the country.
 
And this year, it is even better -- no doubt because so many top teams want to get a look at the Auraria Event Center ahead of December's National Championships (also known as the Elite Eight).
 
"We're always aiming to have the best teams here," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We've consistently had the defending national champions. It's usually not a hard tournament to fill, because it's an awesome opportunity for teams to come and play in this kind of tournament.
 
"And our final selling point – if there was any question mark – is that this is where you could be playing in the Elite Eight. And every team here has the potential to be here in December."
 
How good is the 12-team tournament that is co-hosted by Metropolitan State University of Denver and Regis?
 

• Well, for starters, the other 10 teams that fill out the field opened the season in the national Top 25.

• MSU Denver and Regis held up their end of the bargain by going 4-0 in their opening weekends of play.

• Tampa, the defending national champion, is ranked No. 1 and is off to a 4-0 start. 

• The 12 teams in the field combined to go 40-8 over the opening weekend of the season.

• Lewis (Ill.) and Tarleton State (Texas) and each qualified for the Elite Eight last season and are currently ranked fifth and ninth, respectively.

• Eight of the top 15 teams in the country are in the tournament field.

• And the teams with the worst records this year are nine-time national champion Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) and West Florida, both at 2-2. One of Concordia-St. Paul's losses was at top-ranked Tampa. West Florida had the audacity to lose to two nationally-ranked teams, which somehow cost the Argonauts their spot in the Top 25.

 
So, yeah, this tournament is pretty good, to the point that the word Premier doesn't seem big enough to describe it.
 
"I think it's the deepest field we've had, top to bottom, in my four years here," Glenn said. "It's always hard. We only invite regionally-ranked and top-25 teams to this tournament, so it's never easy."
 
MSU Denver has matches Friday at 2:30 p.m. against Tarleton State and again at 6 p.m. against 15^th-ranked Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Pool play takes place on two courts at both the Auraria Event Center and at Regis beginning at 11 a.m. Friday.
 
On Saturday, based on pool finishes, the field is divided into Gold, Silver and Bronze Brackets. The Gold and Bronze Brackets are at MSU Denver, with play starting at 9 a.m. The championship match scheduled for 7 p.m.
 
"The Premier is always a battle," Glenn said. "Someone told me that you don't come up for air for four matches, and that's literally what it is … see who can hold their breath and execute the longest. There are no breaks. And it's four matches in a short time frame. It's highly-competitive volleyball.
 
"For how we came out of this last weekend, this is exactly where we want to be. This is the challenge we want to face. We need things exposed and we need to test ourselves against the opponents we will face this weekend."
 
Having expectations or goals is sometimes besides the point.
 
"It really is one match at a time," Glenn said. "Tarleton State is a regional match. They won our region last year. We have a singular focus on Tarleton State. When that match is over, we'll move on to the next one.
 
"Because if you look at the Premier as a whole, it's daunting and kind of overwhelming, especially for such a young crew like ours. So it's all about what's next and what is in front of us right now."
 
The quality of competition figures to help the Roadrunners improve. Wins, and even losses, will ultimately help MSU Denver and the other teams build their statistical profile when it comes time for regional committees to extend bids to the NCAA Tournament in November.
 
"We are looking at it as a great opportunity to grow and learn," MSU Denver outside hitter Kayla White said. "Not just to become a better team in general, but also with the people we are playing, if we win it could do a lot for team. So it's an opportunity to grow but also to own the moment and make a great outcome for our team."