The intercollegiate volleyball post-season is here, with three schools from The Centennial State already selected for the national tournaments, with two other universities seeking berths in conference tournaments this week.
MSU Denver (14-0, 27-2), Colorado Mesa (12-2, 23-5), and Colorado Christian (9-5, 19-10) have been selected for the NCAA Division II national tournament as all three teams will be playing in Texas on December 6.
The Roadrunners captured the RMAC title at home on November 23 by defeating Colorado Christian 3-0. Second-seeded Colorado Mesa was expected to meet top-seeded MSUD in the finale but was upset 3-0 by sixth-seeded Colorado Christian in the semifinals.
Although ranked as the nation’s No. 3 team, MSU Denver plays Texas Women’s College in Canyon on December 6, with the winner meeting either No. 8 West Texas A&M or UT Tyler on December 8.
Colorado Mesa and Colorado Christian will be in San Angelo for opening matches, with the No. 19 nationally-ranked Mavericks meeting Dallas Baptist and the Cougars challenging No. 7 Angelo State on December 6. The winners play two nights later for a spot in the “Sweet 16.”
Appearing in its 30th all-time in the NCAA Division II Championships, MSU Denver has reached the third round the last three seasons but was eliminated by West Texas A&M each time. Colorado Mesa is making its fourth straight appearance in the NCAAs and 12th time overall. Colorado Christian’s only other NCAA berth was in 2012.
Here are the other D2 schools from Colorado – Adams State (6-8, 11-16), Colorado Mines (5-9, 9-17), CSU Pueblo (9-5, RMAC postseason 0-1, 16-11), Fort Lewis (6-8, 10-16), Regis (9-5, RMAC postseason 1-1, 14-14), UC Colorado Springs (5-9, 11-15), and Western Colorado (7-7, RMAC postseason 0-1, 12-16).
The NCAA Division I selection show is Sunday, as Northern Colorado and Colorado State are still in the national tournament hunt. Since their leagues are one-bid conferences, the Bears and Rams must secure the league post-season title to advance to the national bracket.
After capturing the regular-season title, Northern Colorado (14-2, 23-6) is the top seed in the Big Sky Conference post-season tournament. The Bears played eighth-seeded Montana State in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, with the semifinals on Thursday and the championship match on Friday in Sacramento, Calif.
The Bears own in-state wins this season over Colorado State (3-1), Colorado (3-2), Air Force (3-1) and Denver (3-1). UNC has won or tied for the title of Big Sky regular season seven times. The Bears have won the league post-season tournament seven times to earn NCAA berths.
Colorado State (14-4, 18-10) has a first-round bye in the Mountain West Conference post-season event in Las Vegas after winning the regular-season title. On Friday, the Rams will play fourth-seeded Fresno State or fifth-seeded San Diego State in the semi-finals.
CSU has won five MWC post-season titles and lost to Fresno State 3-2 in the 2023 championship match at UNLV. The Rams lost to UNC 3-1, split with CU (1-3, 3-1), and defeated Air Force 3-0.
Here is how the other D1 schools in Colorado have fared this season.
Air Force (2-16, 3-26) – After winning 17 of 29 games in 2023, the Falcons struggled under new coach Macey Donathan.
Colorado (5-11, 12-16) – With no post-season tournament in the Big XII, the Buffs season ends with matches at home against Kansas State Wednesday and at Houston Saturday. CU split with Colorado State this season and dropped a five-setter at home to UNC.
Denver (7-9, 13-15) – The Pioneer’s season ended in the Summit Conference post-season, where DU defeated North Dakota State 3-1 before being eliminated by top-seeded South Dakota State 3-2. DU defeated the Air Force twice and lost to UNC at home.
In the NCAA Division III competition, Colorado College (12-3, 17-10) was eliminated in the Southern Athletic Intercollege Conference post-season tournament quarterfinals.
In the junior college ranks, Northeastern of Sterling finished the season with a 32-7 record and was ranked fourth in the final regular-season poll. This year’s sophomores finished their careers at NJC with the best two-year record (69-10) of any players in school history.
