DENVER – MSU Denver Athletics' fall sports season will start off at full speed this week, with eight teams participating in their opening weekend of competition.
 
The highlight will be the men's soccer team playing two high-level home games against what is expected to be the top two teams in the Lone Star Conference.
 
Midwestern State (Texas), ranked No. 8 in NCAA Division II, comes to the Assembly Athletic Complex for a 6 p.m. game Friday, and then West Texas A&M rolls in for a noon game on Sunday.
 
Midwestern State was 20-1-1 last season and reached the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II Tournament.
 
"One of our captains said that he's confident, but not comfortable, which is a great way to look at it," MSU Denver coach Nick Kirchhof said. "They're excited about the opportunity."
 
MSU Denver was 7-8-4 overall last season, but went 5-3-2 in Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference play, finishing fifth in the league and tying for third in league victories.
 
The Roadrunners have six returning starters, but it's a veteran group that includes 19 players who are either juniors or seniors.
 
"We're going to rely on that experience," Kirchhof said. "These guys have played in tight games with their backs against the wall, and we've shown that we can string results together when we need to."
 
Watch the Games
Midwestern State (Texas) at MSU Denver, Friday, 6 p.m.
West Texas A&M at MSU Denver, Sunday, noon.
 

VOLLEYBALL
 
MSU Denver vs. Central Washington, Thursday, 5:30 p.m.
MSU Denver vs. Sonoma State (Calif.), Friday, 1:30 p.m.
MSU Denver at Western Washington, Friday, 8 p.m.
MSU Denver vs. San Francisco State, Saturday, noon.
 
The MSU Denver volleyball team, ranked seventh in the Division II pre-season poll, opens its season with four matches in three days in a tournament hosted by Western Washington.
 
The Roadrunners play Central Washington on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. MDT, then play twice Friday – against Sonoma State (Calif.) at 1:30 p.m. and Western Washington at 8 p.m. – and wrap up Saturday with a noon match against San Francisco State.
 
The Roadrunners are favored to win their fourth straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference regular-season volleyball championship, according to coaches in the league's annual pre-season poll.
 
MSU Denver is coming off a 25-7 season and won its third straight RMAC championship last season after going 13-1 in league play. The Roadrunners advanced to the South Central Regional final (NCAA round of 16) for the third consecutive season.
 
MSU Denver was 121-23 overall and 76-3 in the RMAC during the five-season careers of All-American outside hitter Rylee Hladky and all-region middle blockers Ember Canty and Mikayla McClinton.
 
Though those star players have graduated, the Roadrunners still boast a talented group of returning players, including All-America second team outside hitter Riley Anderson, All-America honorable mention right-side hitter Maddy Williams, outstanding veteran setters Amela Qershia and Delaney Eckhardt, star libero Abbie McCrimmon sophomore outside hitter Skyler Michael, who finished last season with a flurry.
 
MSU Denver has played in 23 consecutive NCAA Division II Tournaments.
 

WOMEN'S SOCCER
 
MSU Denver at Western Washington, Thursday, 8 p.m. MDT.
MSU Denver at Western Oregon, Sunday, 1 p.m. MDT.
 
The MSU Denver women's soccer team opens its season with a tough road trip to the Pacific Northwest, with games Thursday at Western Washington at 8 p.m. MDT and Sunday at Western Oregon at 1 p.m. MDT.
 
It gives several Roadrunners from that region the opportunity to play before family and friends, and it also gives MSU Denver a chance to play two quality opponents.
 
Western Washington is a traditional Division II power and won the 2022 national championship.
 
"These two teams will give us a really big test right off the bat," MSU Denver coach Kat Mertz said. "We only have four new players on the roster starting this fall, so we have a lot of returning players. We have a good core group that's hungry and wants to compete for a conference championship."
 
Tessa Killmon and Monica Yoder shared the team lead with four goals each last season and are among the returning players. Also returning is goalkeeper Kylie Bach, who was All-RMAC second team last season.
 
MSU Denver, national champions in 2004 and 2006, was 7-6-6 overall last season and finished fifth in the RMAC at 6-3-3.

 
MEN'S AND WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY
 
MSU Denver's men's and women's cross country teams open their season on Saturday at the UCCS Rust Buster in Colorado Springs.
 
The Roadrunners compete in the best Division II cross country region in the country (the South Central) and the men's team is ranked ninth in the region in the preseason. Noel Lopez and JJ Ramey, MSU Denver's first qualifiers for the men's cross country National Championships since 2015 last season, lead the way. Ramey set the program record for an eight-kilometer cross country race last season, while Lopez set the program record at 10 kilometers.
 
For the women, past Division II All-America cross country runners Mia Salas and Paige Tack will lead a young, growing team. Audrynn Street, one of MSU Denver's top 800-meter runners ever in track & field, is coming on strong over the longer distances.
 

MEN'S AND WOMEN'S TENNIS
 
MSU Denver's men's and women's tennis teams will start gearing up for their long seasons at the Colorado College Invitational on Saturday and Sunday.
 
Unlike the majority of the season, when the teams compete in dual competition against other teams, this weekend is an individual tournament. Players are expected to play up to four matches, with players divided into three brackets based on expected level of play.
 
Returners Alejandro Jimenez and Marco Jalalian are joined by transfer Lluc Limongi Ollers as some of the men's team's top players, while veterans Kim Heddes and Hanna Haber, plus freshman Victoria Ricaurte-Cabas, are expected to be among the women's team's top performers.

 
WOMEN'S GOLF
 
The MSU Denver women's golf team opens its season Monday and Tuesday at the Swan Memorial, hosted by Colorado Christian at the Broadlands Golf Club in Broomfield, Colo.
 
The Roadrunners have to replace three of the top players in program history in Isabel Botero, Vaijayanti Bharkhada and Sydney Eye, but sophomore Neige Dunn and transfer Izabella Pesicka are among those looking to step into prominent roles.
 
Like tennis, golf plays a portion of its season in the fall before ramping things up again in the spring.