Only a couple days after their big win against Angelo State, the Cougars competed in the Colorado Premiere Tournament in Denver, Colorado. Featuring some of the best teams in the nation, the tournament hosts twelve teams. Seven of them are nationally ranked, and four of them made it to the sweet sixteen in the NCAA tournament last year. The Cougars faced Southwest Minnesota and Saint Leo, who both advanced to the second round of the NCAA tournament in 2017. After a long day of volleyball, Colorado Christian went 0-2. The Cougars faced Southwest Minnesota who is currently ranked 2nd in the AVCA Coaches Poll, and Saint Leo who is currently receiving votes.

MATCH 1 VS SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA

HOW IT HAPPENED: The first set was off to a neck and neck start for both teams, continually trading leads. The Cougars had the upper hand at 17-15, but Southwest Minnesota came back to tie it up again at 18's. Their offense took over from there, getting five kills in the last seven points to win 25-20. Set two was going point for point yet again, as both teams continued to battle it out. Near the end of the set, the Mustangs pulled ahead to make the score 23-17. However unforced errors from Southwest Minnesota allowed the Cougars to edge their way back with a run, but the Mustangs still came out on top 25-23. Following the trend, set three was again tied for most of the set. When both teams were tied at 21's, the Cougar defense came alive and wasn't letting a ball hit the floor. Closing it out, Colorado Christian finished with a kill from Cali Bahnsen to win their first set of the match 25-22. Not taking the loss lightly, the Mustangs came out strong in the fourth set, at one point taking a five point lead. But the Cougars were able to fight their way back and tie up the score at 13. From there, it was point for point yet again. Colorado Christian took the lead at 16's, and from there the game was in their hands. Their strong offense took control to take the set 25-20. Coming out swinging in the fifth set, the Mustangs took the set by storm. They went an impressive ten kills, zero errors, on 19 attempts to hit a .526 as a team. The Cougar defense was unable to stop the madness and lost 15-7.

MATCH LEADERS: Colorado Christian's offense was led by Cali Bahnsen, hitting .395 with 17 kills. Also in the double digit range was Ashley Drye with 11 and Hope Baldrica with 10. Leading in percentage was Katie Henry with .412. Three Cougars had digs in the double digits. Mariela Gonzalez led with 21, followed by Jacey Johnson with 17 and Kylee Wurster with 12. Wurster also tallied 50 assists.

MATCH 2 VS SAINT LEO

HOW IT HAPPENED: After three Cougar errors in a row, The first few points were in the Lions favor. However the Cougars were able to bounce back and work their way back in the set, taking the lead and never looking back when they reached ten points. Their offense came alive to take the set 25-21. Second set, the teams went point for point all the way until they tied up at 23. The Lions were able to notch in two more points to win the set 25-23. Carrying off of their momentum from set two, Saint Leo dominated set three. As a team, they hit .364 and their defense shut down the Cougars offense causing them to hit -0.161. Just like the rest of the day, the set was going point for point. The Lions however took a lead after being tied at 15, and got a five point lead over the Cougars, 24-19. Not backing down, Colorado Christian fought their way back to tie it up at 24. But Saint Leo earned a quick two points to take the match, 26-24. 

MATCH LEADERS: Katie Henry led the Cougars not only in hits but also in percentage, hitting an incredible .542 with 15 kills. Mariela Gonzalez led the charge in digs yet again, bringing in 16.

Colorado Christian will finish the Premiere Tournament tomorrow, Saturday the 1st, against Regis hosted at Metro at 11:30am. Their next game will either be at 2:30pm or 5pm depending on the outcome, against Lewis University or Texas A&M Commerce.

After this weekend, the Cougars next game will be their conference home opener against UC Colorado Springs, on September 7th at 7pm.