ST. PAUL, Minn. – The fifth-ranked Concordia-St. Paul volleyball team (3-1) will head west once again this weekend to compete in the annual Colorado Premier Challenge. The Golden Bears will take on #23 Lewis (2-2) and Seattle Pacific (0-4) in pool play on Friday.
 
BUY TICKETS TO HOME GAMES ONLINE
Fans are encouraged to buy tickets in advance and bring your QR code to the gates to skip the line! Friends and families who utilize the pass list will also be utilizing the online ticketing service while all students, faculty & staff will access their free CSP tickets through the service. Fans do not need to create a login, remember a username or password or download an app to purchase tickets, and tickets can still be purchased with cash at the gates. Find out more in the partnership announcement between CSP Athletics and HomeTown Ticketing.
 
WATCH ONLINE – NSIC NETWORK
All Golden Bear NSIC volleyball matches will be available to watch online, free of charge, powered by the NSIC Network, supported by BlueFrame Technology. Visit nsicnetwork.com/cspbears on a laptop or desktop computer, download the NSIC Network app on your mobile device or watch on your supported OTT provider such as Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Android TV. Search "NSIC Network" and download the app for the league's full sport and team lineups. NSIC NETWORK FAQ
 
DOWNLOAD THE APP
Fans can download the CSP Bears fan app, free of charge and available in the App Store or on Google Play. The app contains rosters, schedules, scores, stats, news, social media and more! Customize your options to get notifications to your favorite teams, as well. Search "CSP Bears" in the app store to stay up-to-date on Golden Bear athletics.

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION
The Colorado Premier Challenge pits many of the top Division II programs against each other annually in Denver. The tourney is co-hosted by MSU Denver and Regis, with both campuses hosting matches throughout the weekend.

In pool play, the Golden Bears will head to the campus of Regis University as they take on #23 Lewis at 11 a.m. on Friday in the opener before facing #19 Seattle Pacific at 7 p.m. Concordia will then be placed into one of three brackets on Saturday, with match times and locations to be determined.
 
Live stats and live video will be available for all matches.
 
TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Concordia enters the weekend as eight-time championships of the Colorado Premier Challenge, having taken home the title in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2023.
 
Last season, CSP claimed a pair of four-set wins over Western Washington and Ferris State in pool play to secure a spot in the Gold Bracket. The Golden Bears topped then-#1 West Texas A&M in a five-set match to punch their ticket to the title match, going on to defeat then-#3 Wayne State in five sets to win the tournament.

The 2023 Colorado Premier All-Tournament Team featured three Golden Bears, with Jamie Guptill and Jasmine Mulvihill earning the honor and Teagan Starkey being named Tournament MVP. Starkey finished with at least 43 assists in all four matches, including a 68-set performance in the championship match. Her 218 total sets (12.11 per set) led all players in the tournament, and she registered back-to-back double doubles with 15 and 13 digs in the final two matches, respectively.

Mulvihill reached double digit kills in all but one match on the weekend, logging a double-double in the semifinal match. In total, she tallied 54 kills (3.0 per set) in the tournament. Guptill finished the weekend with 49 total kills (2.72 per set) and 13 total blocks, including a 19-kill, three-block performance against Ferris State and a 15-kill, five block match in the win over West Texas A&M.
 
LAST TIME OUT
In the season's opening weekend, Concordia went 3-1 in four matches at the Oredigger Classic hosted by Colorado School of Mines.

On Friday, the Golden Bears opened with a five-set win over Missouri Western before falling to #17 Colorado Mesa in four sets. On Saturday, CSP bounced back with a sweep of Regis and a four-set win over Gannon.

Concordia's Claudia Stahlke, Emma Schmidt, and Teagan Starkey were each named to the nine-member All-Tournament Team. Stahlke was an instrumental piece of Concordia's defensive effort, leading all players in the tournament with 27 total blocks (1.69 per set, 7^th in NCAA Division II). She added 38 kills on an efficient .385 hitting percentage. Schmidt became the eighth member of the 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills club, leading the team with 49 kills (3.06 per set) on a .252 hitting percentage, and ranking second on the team with 56 digs (3.50 per set). Starkey led all players in the tournament with 194 set assists (12.13 per set, fourth in NCAA Division II). Senior Sophia Andersen also reached a milestone in the tournament, becoming the 24^th Golden Bear to record her 1,000^th career kill.
 
IN THE POLLS
After a 3-1 start to the season, the Golden Bears held on to their spot at #5 on the AVCA Coaches Poll. Concordia has been a mainstay near the top of the poll for nearly two decades as they have only ranked outside the top-10 for three weeks since 2003, never ranking below #15. Heading into the season, the Golden Bears have ranked #1 at least once in 15 of the past 18 seasons. In total, CSP has spent an incredible 83 weeks at the top team in the country since debuting there in the 2004 preseason poll.
 
THE MATCHUPS
CSP will face off with Lewis University in the seventh meeting all-time between the two programs, with the Golden Bears claiming victory in each of the previous six matches. The last match up between the two squads was at the 2022 Colorado Premier Challenge, with Concordia winning in four sets.
 
This will be just Concordia's second meeting with Seattle Pacific, with the Golden Bears sweeping the Falcons in the inaugural match up in 2022.