DENVER – Twelve teams, 10 of them ranked and two of them not very far away.
 
Four matches in roughly 36 hours.
 
Last team standing wins.
 
In a nutshell, that's the Colorado Premier Challenge, NCAA Division II's best in-season volleyball tournament. The two-day carnival of carnage returns Friday to the Auraria Event Center on the MSU Denver campus as well as the Regis Field House.
 
"We have a really strong field," MSU Denver coach Jenny Glenn said. "Everyone who is coming is a perennial powerhouse and is used to winning. Every team expects to win this weekend. That's what makes it so fun. The gritty teams are the ones who continue to win, because you have to go back-to-back matches, four matches in less than 48 hours, almost closer to 24.
 
"We have to go out and battle and play really good teams when we're tired – because we're tired in November, too. It develops a grittiness. You find ways to win when you're tired and the team across from you is challenging you."
 
MSU Denver, ranked No. 4 in Division II, is in Pool 4 of the tournament, the same pool as No. 16 Angelo State (Texas) and No. 10 Northwest Missouri State. The Roadrunners play Angelo State on Friday at 2:30 p.m. and Northwest Missouri State on Friday at 6 p.m.
 
Other pools include Western Washington, Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.) and Lewis (Ill.) in Pool 1; West Florida, Wayne State (Neb.) and Azusa Pacific (Calif.) in Pool 2; and Central Missouri, Regis and West Texas A&M in Pool 3. Pools 1 and 4 are at MSU Denver for matches Friday at 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m. and 6 p.m. (play takes place on two courts).
 
Bracket pairings are set for Saturday based on Friday's results, with the top team in each pool moving into the Gold Bracket, the second-place teams to the Silver and the third-place teams to the Bronze.
 
On Saturday, MSU Denver plays host to both the Gold and Bronze brackets, with matches at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 2:30 p.m. (Bronze consolation), 4 p.m. (Gold consolation), 5 p.m. (Bronze championship) and 7 p.m. (championship).
 
Ten of the top 18 teams in Division II in Denver for the weekend.
 
Western Washington is ranked No. 3, West Florida is No. 5, Concordia-St. Paul is No. 6, Central Missouri is No. 11, West Texas A&M is No. 12, Wayne State is 15^th and Lewis is No. 18.
 
"An early-season tournament like this, we still have to remember that it's Week Two," Glenn said. "It's a process for any team, and we need to figure things out. We're not going to have all the answers right now. Our team needs to be patient and understand the bigger picture, because we aren't the same team as last year.
 
"We're not going on the same path. We're blazing our own trail. Last weekend (the Roadrunners went 4-0 in a tournament in California) was a great start. This weekend is where the rubber meets the road – not from an end-all perspective but from a growth perspective."
 
MSU Denver, oh by the way, is the returning Premier champion.
 
Its 4-0 run through a schedule that included three ranked teams – including then-No. 1 Concordia-St. Paul – touched off a magical season that included a 24-match winning streak, five weeks spent ranked No. 1, and an unbeaten march through the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular season.
 
"It was the belief side of things, proving to ourselves that we could be at that level," Glenn said of what the championship did. "What our team needs to understand now is that winning the Premier doesn't really mean anything at the end of the day. It's great from a confidence standpoint, and it's great as a measuring stick, but it's nowhere near determining where you'll be at the end of the year. This group has to stay focused on the process, stay focused on one match at a time, and kind of surrender the pressure of trying to repeat and not put too much stock in it one way or the other."
 
The Roadrunners have many of their key pieces back from last season, including All-American outside hitter Rylee Hladky, All-RMAC quality middle blockers Ember Canty and Mikayla McClinton, All-RMAC second team libero Ashlyn Cianciulli and All-RMAC honorable mention setter Amela Qershia.
 
Outside hitters Kaylee Corsentino and Riley Anderson have shown signs of taking their games to another level this year, and high-quality transfer outside hitters Kelsey Gordon and Maddie Lindsay have had a major impact.
 
One newer member of the 6-2 rotation is setter Delaney Eckhardt, who has had – as expected – a strong start. Eckhardt and Qershia helped direct the Roadrunners to .298 hitting last weekend while combining for an average of 11.1 assists per set.
 
"We're still trying to figure out our rhythm and flow from an offensive perspective," Glenn said. "We're trying to match the setter-styles – because they both have really different styles. That will take some time. But our jumping-off point was good. It's just going to be a process of dialing it in. Our offense was good, and it can still get better."
 
Meanwhile, predicting outcomes at the Premier is always a difficult proposition.
 
"We always look forward to this weekend," Glenn said. "You know it's going to be four tough matches, so you've got to get ready for the battle. As coaches and athletes, this is one of our favorite weekends of the year. You can go 0-4 and still end up in the Elite Eight, or you can win it and not.
 
"It's a good opportunity for us to challenge ourselves early on against some really good teams."