DENVER – MSU Denver will get a shot at No. 1 again on Saturday.
 
Two years ago at the Colorado Premier Challenge, MSU Denver knocked off defending champion and top-ranked Tampa (Fla.). After two impressive sweeps Friday, including a victory over No. 10 Central Missouri, the Roadrunners put themselves in the Premier's Gold Bracket as a 2-0 pool champion for the first time since 2005 and will now take on powerhouse Concordia-St. Paul.
 
"I just got chills thinking about it," outside hitter Avaline Lai said of playing the nation's No. 1 team after the victory over Central Missouri. "It's exciting to think about. We all really want this and when we're matched up against a really good team like that, it lights a flame under us. We're all really excited to go after them tomorrow."
 
The 9 a.m. match will be played at the Regis Field House, home of the tournament's co-host.
 
There's a difference between Tampa of two years ago – which had injuries to key players and had already lost three matches at the Premier, arguably Divison II's best tournament. This Concordia-St. Paul team is 6-0 and won twice Friday – 3-1 over No. 25 Rockhurst (Mo.) and 3-0 over No. 6 Cal State San Bernardino.
 
"Concordia-St. Paul is such a powerhouse in Division II volleyball, a dynasty that is consistent year after year after year," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "We played them a couple of years ago in the Premier, and we're looking forward to having more great volleyball tomorrow. It's just fun to play such high-level volleyball."
 
While there was a nice partisan crowd supporting the Roadrunners on Friday, they'll have to reassemble four miles north at the Regis for Saturday's matches. If MSU Denver wins, it would play for the championship at 7 p.m. at the Field House. The third-place match, also at Regis, is scheduled for 4 p.m.
 
"It's good to be at a place where we're comfortable," Glenn said. "That gym feels like a second home for us. We'd love to be playing at home in the Gold Bracket, but we'll take the Gold Bracket over playing at home."
 
To get there, the Roadrunners first dispatched Texas A&M-Commerce 25-21, 25-22, 25-15. MSU Denver hit a surreal .413 (52 kills, seven errors, 109 attacks) for its most efficient offensive match since hitting .427 against Adams State on Nov. 23, 2013.
 
"When we pass well and get the ball up to the net, we're a really hard team to beat," Glenn said. "You can't commit to any one hitter on our roster, and that makes us really hard to defend. You'll see the waves going with our passing and our first contact. When we're in system, we're really hard to defend."
 
Lai hit .593 (17 kills, one error, 27 attacks) and Rylee Hladky had 13 kills on .393 hitting and also add three service aces.
 
"It was just breaking the other teams down through passing and serving, and I think we took some dips here and there in our passing and we had to get back on track, but we stayed aggressive at the service line and that makes a lot of things easier when you play out the rallies," Lai said of the back-to-back performances.
 
In the 25-18, 25-19, 25-17 win over Central Missouri, MSU Denver hit .348 through two sets before settling for a still-outstanding .307.
 
Hladky had 14 kills, Lai added 11 on .364 hitting and true freshman Riley Anderson hit .421 with 10 kills while adding four blocks. Mikayla McClinton and Amela Qershia each had two service aces, while McClinton had a team-high five blocks and Qershia led the team with 20 assists.
 
MSU Denver led 19-8 in the first set, 13-4 in the second and led throughout the third set before wrapping it up with the final six points of the match.
 
While Lai (4.7) and Hladky (4.5) led the entire tournament in kills per set for the first day, Lai ranked second with a .490 hitting percentage, and Hladky led all tournament players in points per set (5.3), the Roadrunners got contributions up and down the lineup in both matches.
 
"We have depth this year, which we haven't always had in the past due to injuries or other factors like a smaller roster," Glenn said. "But with 19 on the roster this year, it gives us flexibility, so if it's not one person's night or one person's moment, someone else can step in and do a great job for us. That helps us ."