NO. 3 MSU DENVER VOLLEYBALL VS. RV DALLAS BAPTIST
Friday, 2 p.m., Auraria Event Center | Tickets
 
NO. 3 MSU DENVER VOLLEYBALL VS. NO. 17 CENTRAL MISSOURI
Friday, 6 p.m., Auraria Event Center | Tickets
 
Watch the Matches
 
DENVER – The best in-season volleyball tournament in NCAA Division II makes its annual run in Denver this weekend.
 
And the third-ranked MSU Denver team is one of the biggest reasons why the Colorado Premier Challenge is what it is.
 
The Roadrunners, and co-host Regis, regularly fill the field with preeminent programs from Division II and this weekend doesn't disappoint.
 
Besides No. 3 MSU Denver, also coming to the 12-team challenge is No. 2 Wayne State (Neb.), No. 4 Missouri-St. Louis, No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul (Minn.), No. 9 West Texas A&M, No. 13 Chaminade (Hawaii), No. 17 Central Missouri, No. 23 Lewis (Ill.) and No. 24 Regis.
 
The rest of the tournament field is Dallas Baptist, Seattle Pacific and Wheeling (W.V.), and both Dallas Baptist and Seattle Pacific received votes in this week's national poll.
 
All 12 teams were in last year's NCAA Tournament – four were among the eight No. 1 seeds, three were No. 2 seeds, two were No. 3 seeds and no team was seeded lower than fifth.
 
The tournament is Friday and Saturday at both the Auraria Event Center and the Regis Field House.
 
Friday's pool play matches are at 10 a.m., 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., with two matches taking place simultaneously at each venue. MSU Denver plays Dallas Baptist at 2 p.m. and Central Missouri at 6.
 
The four pool champions advance to the Gold Bracket, while the four runners-up move into the Silver Bracket and the four last-place pool teams play in the Bronze Bracket.
 
Bracket play is scheduled for Saturday, with the Gold Bracket scheduled to be played at MSU Denver. However, MSU Denver's bracket will be at the Auraria Event Center, unless the Roadrunners and Regis are both in the Silver Bracket or both in the Bronze Bracket. It's a little confusing … the Saturday schedule will be announced late Friday night.
 
In the meantime, sit back and watch some of the finest volleyball in Division II.
 
MSU Denver is 4-0 after winning all 12 sets it played last weekend at the Western Washington Invitational. The Roadrunners swept the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference's weekly awards for the first time since 2009, with Annika Helf earning Offensive Player of the Week, Maddy Williams winning Defensive Player of the Week, and Delaney Eckhardt capturing Setter of the Week.
 
The Roadrunners rank third in Division II in hitting percentage at .353.
 
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS
 
MSU Denver's men's and women's tennis programs play their first home duals of the season at the Auraria Event Center on Thursday at 1 p.m. against Nebraska-Kearney.
 
After that is dual play on Friday and Saturday in Pueblo, Colo. Both teams play Newman (Kan.) at 8:30 a.m. Friday, then face Lubbock Christian (Texas) at 9 a.m. on Saturday. The Roadrunners' women also have a dual Friday at 4:30 p.m. against Fort Hays State (Kan.).
 
The Roadrunners played in an individual tournament last weekend at Colorado College, and amongthe  top performers was Monica Guarin, who won the Women's Singles B Draw.
 
WOMEN'S SOCCER
RV MSU Denver at No. 12 Dallas Baptist, Thursday, 7 p.m. CDT
Lubbock Christian (Texas) at RV MSU Denver, Sunday, noon, Assembly Athletic Complex | Tickets
 
The MSU Denver women's soccer team, receiving votes in the Division II Top 25 coaches poll after an impressive defensive showing last weekend, will be put to the test again Thursday at 12^th-ranked Dallas Baptist before returning for its first home match of the season, Sunday at noon against Lubbock Christian (Texas).
 
Dallas Baptist, the top seed in the South Central Regional for the NCAA Tournament last year, is off to a 1-0 start after going 14-1-4 in 2023. Lubbock Christian, coming off a 4-6-1 season, is 1-0-1. Dallas Baptist is the preseason favorite to win the Lone Star Conference, while Lubbock Christian is picked to place eighth in the 14-team league.
 
Last week the Roadrunners played both Western Washington and Western Oregon to 0-0 ties on the road. Western Washington, the 2022 national champions, went on to beat 2023 national quarterfinalist UCCS 2-0 and moved into the national top 25 at No. 20.
 
Kylie Bach was named the RMAC's Goalkeeper of the Week after posting her 17^th and 18^th career shutouts. The Roadrunners have 31 shutouts in the 59 games since Kat Mertz became head coach in 2021.
 
MEN'S SOCCER
MSU Denver at Dominican (Calif.), Thursday, 4 p.m. PDT
MSU Denver at Academy of Art (Calif.), Saturday, 10 a.m. PDT
 
Fresh off what could be an important 2-0 regional victory over West Texas A&M, the MSU Denver men's soccer team will start a four-game road swing through California with games Thursday at 4 p.m. PDT at Dominican (Calif.) and Saturday at 10 a.m. PDT at Academy of Art (Calif.).
 
Dominican is off to a 2-0 start after going 8-5-4 last season, while Academy of Art is 0-1 and is coming off a 3-11-4 record in 2023.
 
Dominican is picked to finish fourth in the 14-team Pacific West Conference, while Academy of Art was picked to finish 12^th.
 
MSU Denver had five different players score goals last weekend, which also included an entertaining 5-3 loss to No. 8 Midwestern State (Texas).
 
WOMEN'S GOLF
 
Coming off a solid showing in the second round of the season-opening Swan Memorial, MSU Denver is looking to keep its momentum moving Monday and Tuesday at the RJGA Shootout at Estrella in Goodyear, Ariz.
 
The Roadrunners had a four-player score of 17-over par 305 in the second round at the Swan Memorial, nearly among the top 10 rounds in program history.
 
Mackenzie Carpenter shot 76-75 and tied for 16^th overall at 7-over par 151, and Neige Dunn matched a career best with a second-round 73 to finish tied for 20^th at 8-over 152.
 
Scores were low at Shootout at Estrella last year, with the Roadrunners shooting 300 (tied for fourth best in program history) and 305, yet still placing just 12^th.