TexAnns in Colorado hoping to continue hot start

Special to The Flash Today
TarletonSports.com

AT A GLANCE
Tarleton has received an invitation to compete at NCAA Division II’s most prestigious invitational volleyball tournament as the TexAnns will visit Denver, Colorado to take part in the Colorado Premier Challenge this weekend. No. 17 Tarleton will square off with No. 16 Central Missouri and tournanment co-host Regis on Friday in pool play before advancing to bracket play Saturday. Tarleton will play at 12 p.m. CST and 3:30 p.m. CST on Friday.

ABOUT THE COLORADO PREMIER CHALLENGE
The Colorado Premier Challenge will host some of the best programs in the nation, as eight of the 12 teams are ranked in the top 25 in the AVCA coaches poll. Five of those seven top 25 teams are in the top 10, with the top three all competing at the premier. The tournament is co-hosted by Regis and Metro State in Denver, Colorado. The tournament began in 1996. Since 2006, the winner of the Colorado Premier Challenge has gone on to win the NCAA Division II National Championship six times.

GAME COVERAGE
Live stats and video will be provided by the co-hosting schools. Links can be found on Tournament Central or on the volleyball schedule at TarletonSports.com.
 
LAST TIME OUT
Tarleton got off to a record start to 2017 by sweeping their first four matches of the year last weekend. The TexAnns opened up the TexAnn Invitational last Friday with wins over Maryville and then-No. 23 Rockhurst, which was the TexAnns’ first-ever AVCA Top-25 match. Tarleton followed up with two more sweeps last Saturday against Southwest Baptist and No. 18 Central Oklahoma. Adriana Darthuy and Amber Strange were named to the All-Tournament team while Hailey Roberts and Jordyn Keamo were named Co-MVPs of the tournament.

IN THE NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT
After opening the season with a national ranking for the first-time in school history, Tarleton wasted no time in flexing their muscles against some of the nation’s best. The TexAnns won two AVCA Top-25 matches last weekend and were rewarded in the national polls with an eight-spot improvement, moving from No. 25 to a new school-record high No. 17.

UP NEXT FOR TARLETON
This is the final weekend of tournament action and Tarleton will start playing single matches with three consecutive days of road matches, beginning Thursday at 6 p.m. at Dallas Baptist. The TexAnns will then visit Texas Woman’s Friday and Texas A&M-Commerce Saturday.