Previewing DII women's volleyball's Colorado Premier Challenge

This weekend, DII women’s volleyball will put the premier in the Colorado Premier Challenge. A plethora of top-25 teams are set to battle in Denver yet again in a tournament that's been around since 1996. While defending national champion Cal State LA won’t be present, there are a bevy of DII women’s volleyball powerhouses commencing on the campuses of Regis and MSU Denver this weekend. 

2024 PREVIEW: What to watch as the DII women’s volleyball season returns

Here’s a look at what you need to know about the prestigious event. Also, make sure to check out . 

The Colorado Premier Challenge, previewed

What is the Colorado Premier Challenge? In short, the two-day event is DII women’s volleyball gold. It takes place on the campuses of MSU Denver and Regis, a 12-minute drive through downtown Denver.  

The tournament began in 1996 when BYU-Hawaii and Central Missouri each went 4-0 in their respective brackets to become the first co-champions of the event. BYU-Hawaii’s Becky Laubach was the first-ever MVP of the event, which has now been played every year since, minus the 2020 season interrupted by COVID-19. Incidentally, that 1996 season was the only time there were co-champions; however, in 2014 there was no champion due to a four-way tie. 

Regis and MSU Denver, as co-hosts, obviously have the most appearances of any program with 27. Central Missouri has made the tournament a pretty much annual occurrence with 24 appearances, while two of the winningest programs in the sport's history — Concordia-St. Paul and West Texas A&M — have been there 17 times… and counting. All five teams are back for more in 2024. 

It's a top-25 party in Denver. There is no shortage of elite talent this weekend, hence the name premier. Looking at the preseason rankings, there were 10 AVCA top-25 teams playing on Friday and Saturday. Currently No. 2 Wayne State (Neb.), No. 3 MSU Denver, No. 4 UMSL, No. 5 Concordia-St. Paul and No. 9 West Texas A&M make five top-10 teams. Chaminade, Regis, Lewis, and Central Missouri round out the top-25 teams, while Seattle Pacific, which began the season in the top 25, and DBU both earned votes.

West Texas A&M, Wayne State (Neb.) and UMSL were all national quarterfinalists a year ago. Wheeling, which has won its conference tournament 16 years running and is one of three former DII women's volleyball champions in the mix, travels the furthest from the East Coast at just over 1,000 miles. Seattle Pacific, which returned to the DII women's volleyball championship for the first time since 2011 last year, travels the furthest from the West Coast, just over 1,300 miles. If you get the invite to the Colorado Premier College, you don't say no, whatever the mileage you rack up may be.

Concordia-St. Paul goes for No. 9. The Golden Bears have more DII women's volleyball national championships than any other program with nine. They can match that number in Colorado Premier Challenge championships this year if they follow up last year's title with a repeat performance. Concordia's eight Colorado Premier Challenge titles are the most of any team — and getting No. 9 isn't out of the question. The Golden Bears went back-to-back before in both 2008-09 and 2018-19.

HISTORY: DII volleyball teams with the most NCAA DII national championships

Concordia opened its season last weekend at the Oredigger Volleyball Classic. While the Golden Bears did lose to No. 17 Colorado Mesa, they did start the season with a 3-1 win over Colorado Premier Challenge host Regis. Emma Schmidt was under consideration for NSIC offensive player of the week after becoming a member of the 1,000 kill/1,000 dig club and Claudia Stahlke was under consideration for NSIC defensive player of the week, totaling 27 total blocks. 

Looking for more. The Golden Bears aren't the only team looking to add to their Colorado Premier Challenge trophy case. Central Missouri is looking for No. 2, having not won since its co-champion title at the very first challenge. The Jennies began the season at the BritKare Lady Buff Classic where they went 2-1, losing to fellow Colorado Premier Challenger West Texas A&M. Speaking of the Buffs, West Texas A&M has three Colorado Premier Challenge titles of its own, but it has been quite a long drought — not capturing one since 2012. The Buffs lost its opening matchup to No. 18 Ferris State but went 9-1 in the rest of their sets to win out the rest of the weekend. 

Wayne State (Neb.) — last year's Central Region champion — has been on a tear lately and won its second Colorado Premier Challenge title in 2022. The Wildcats cleaned up at the Eckerd College Tournament, going 4-0 and losing just one set the entire weekend. Both host schools — MSU Denver with two and Regis with one — have hoisted the trophy at their tournament's conclusion. The Roadrunners have done it as recently as 2021, while Regis was the first solo champion of the tournament, last winning in 1997. 

Lewis has made 11 appearances and is still looking for win No. 1. Seattle Pacific and Wheeling are making their second trips to the event and are also looking for a title.

That leads to our debut squads. 

First timers head to Denver. According to , Chaminade, DBU and Missouri-St. Louis are making their debut on the big stage in 2024. UMSL is fresh off its second-consecutive trip to the national semifinals, where each time — first to West Texas A&M in 2022 and then Cal State LA in 2023 — its season came to an end at the hands of the eventual national champion.

Perhaps a bit of a surprise, UMSL was not picked to win its own conference — the GLVC — in its preseason poll. The Tritons responded by going 4-0 at the Union Volleyball Classic last weekend and closed out the tournament by winning 10 straight sets. Caitlin Bishop was named the GLVC setter of the week by tallying 170 assists on the weekend. DBU is coming off a historic season where the Patriots picked up their first-ever NCAA DII tournament win by sweeping No. 12 Colorado Mesa before falling to West Texas A&M, which they may very well see again this weekend. The Patriots come in 3-1 after a successful opening weekend at the Dallas Classic. 

After taking down its Alaska foes in the Hawaii-Alaska Challenge, the Silverswords had a tough split at the Yotes Classic Showdown. They drew four nationally ranked teams, defeating defending national champion Cal State LA and then-No. 8 Cal State San Bernardino. Chaminade will play its fifth nationally ranked team in a row when it begins its maiden voyage by opening the Colorado Premier Challenge against Wayne State (Neb.). 

Colorado Premier Challenge Day 1 Schedule

(Note: All matches below take place on Friday, Sept. 13. The Saturday, Sept. 14 matches will be determined by the outcomes of Friday's matches. .)