DENVER – The second-ranked Belles continue their Colorado road trip this weekend with matches on Friday and Saturday in Denver as they compete in the Colorado Premier Tournament for the first time since 2018.
The Belles are coming off their first loss of the season, a 3-0 defeat to Adams State last night.

In six previous appearances in the Colorado Premier Tournament, the Belles have a 13-12 overall record with a pair of third place and fourth place overall finishes, as well as six players being named to the all-tournament team.

The Belles are in pool #3 for the tournament, along with hosts Regis and Lynn University. Friday's match against Lynn will be the first time the two schools have played each other. The Fighting Knights are 3-0 on the season, having made the NCAA regional in 2019, when they went 28-5 overall on the season.

Regis awaits the Bells on Friday evening. The Rangers, one of two host schools for this tournament alongside MSU Denver, are 38-58 all-time in this tournament, having won it once in 1997. The Belles are 4-1 all-time against the Rangers under head coach Chuck Waddington, with a 2-1 record in Denver. These two teams last played in 2018, with the Belles victorious in three sets.

Results from all matches on Friday will dictate the Belles' opponents on Saturday, with their first match coming against a team out of pool #2, which includes fifth-ranked Lewis, ninth-ranked Western Washington and #17 Wayne State (Neb.).

At this tournament, nine of the 12 teams are nationally ranked in the AVCA Division II poll, with two more schools receiving votes.

Delaney Fuller leads the offense for the Belles in the early portion of the season with 48 kills; teammates Grace White (39 kills), Sophia Berg (38 kills) and Baleigh Allen (32 kills) aren't too far off the sophomore's pace.

Additionally, White, Berg and Allen are all hitting above .300 on the season as the Belles are hitting .255 as a team.

Kailyn Gilbreath, the conference's reigning setter of the week, has 158 assists, averaging 10.53 per set, as well as 23 kills.

White and Allen have led the defensive effort at the net for the Belles, with 12.0 and 11.0 blocks respectively. On the back line, libero Chloe Patton has 70 digs on the season and Makenna Hanssen has 42 digs.

Following this weekend in Colorado, the Belles open Lone Star Conference play on September 17^th versus Oklahoma Christian before hosting UAFS the next day.