Colorado Christian at Hampton Inn Invitational
Friday- Saturday, Sept. 10-11 
Kenosha, WI (De Simone Gymnasium)

• This is the Cougars first trip to Wisconsin in program history
• Previously, Colorado Christian hasn't played any of their four opponents this weekend

Follow Along:
Tournament Central
(Live Stream and Live Stats available for all matches. Links vary based on the court which teams are playing on)

Looking at the Opponents

It is pretty straight forward. The Cougars have never played any of their four opponents this weekend. 

Both Parkside and Lake Superior State compete in the Great Lake Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC). Parkside was picked to finish fourth (ouf of five) in the South Division while Lake Superior State was selected to finish in sixth (out of six) in the North Division. 

Meanwhile, both Minnesota schools compete in the Northern Sun; typically the best volleyball conference in NCAA Division II. Minnesota Duluth was picked second with Minnesota State selected in the ninth position in the 16-team conference. Minnesota Duluth is ranked 11th in the latest AVCA Division II National Poll. Under the guidance of 20th year head Jim Boos, they have made the NCAA postseason in all but one of his seasons at the helm. 

Friday, Sept. 10 (Central Time)
at Parkside, 10:15 a.m.
vs. Minnesota State, 2:45 p.m.

Saturday, Sept. 11 (Central Time)
vs. Lake Superior State, 8 a.m.
vs. Minnesota Duluth, 12:30 p.m.

Looking Back at Last Weekend

The good happened on Friday as the Cougars started the season with a pair of wins for the first time since the 2012 season. The began the year with a four-set win over Midwestern State (TX) before beating Seattle Pacific in a five-set thriller to close out the day.

Unfortunately on Saturday Colorado Christian fell in both their matches as Southwest Minnesota State and Sioux Falls posted wins in three- and four-sets respectively. 

Young Squad

Coming into the season the Cougars knew they were going to rely on their youth. The first weekend of matches proved that case. Of the squads 183 kills, just over 61 percent of them came from a player competing in a Colorado Christian uniform in their first or second season. Moreover, all but 18 of the squads 167 assists (10.44 asst/set) came from a first-year Colorado Christian player. Along the back row, the team had 166 digs (10.38 digs/set). Only 32 came from a junior or senior on the team.

Feeling Good(man)

Libby Goodman began her Cougar career in fine fashion. Her 3.57 kills/set currently leads the RMAC. The North Alabama transfer played in 14 of the team's 16 sets and tallied a .212 hitting percentage from her outside position. 

RMAC Preseason Poll

The Cougars were picked to finish sixth in the preseason poll of the league's head coaches. Colorado Mesa were chosen as favorite in 2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

2021 RMAC Volleyball Preseason Poll

1. Colorado Mesa (7) - 182
2. MSU Denver (3) - 174
3. Colorado School of Mines (3) - 172
4. Regis (1) - 156
5. CSU Pueblo - 144
6. Colorado Christian - 125
7. South Dakota Mines - 98
T8. UCCS - 93
T8. Western Colorado - 93
10. Black Hills State - 88
11. Fort Lewis - 87
12. Chadron State - 61
13. Westminster - 44
14. Adams State (1) - 43
15. New Mexico Highlands - 15

Head Coach - Bobby Blanken

The 2021 season will be Bobby Blanken's fifth as Colorado Christian's Head Volleyball Coach. In his first year, Coach Blanken led the team to a conference record of 14-4 which landed a 4th place conference finish which allowed the program to host a RMAC Tournament match for the first time.

During his three seasons with the Cougars he has coached six all-conference players as well as an all-region and All-American player in Sophia Proano.

Before Colorado Christian, Blanken served MSU Denver's head assistant coach since 2014. In his three-year stint at MSU Denver, Blanken helped lead a very successful program that went 18-0 in the RMAC in 2016.

Prior to coaching at MSU Denver, Blanken was the Head Women's Volleyball Coach at The Master's College in Santa Clarita, CA from 2010-2014. During his time at The Master's College, Blanken successfully built the program from a 7-22 first year record to a No. 6 NAIA finish in his final year. Blanken was named the 2012 AVCA West Region Coach of the Year and 2012 Golden State Athletic Conference Coach of the Year. At The Master's College, Blanken totaled a record of 87-56 (.608).