Colorado Premier Challenge
Date & Time	Friday, September 4th | 3:00 p.m. CT & 7:00 p.m. CT
Location	Denver, Colorado | Berce Athletic Center
Live Statistics	Link
Live Video	RMAC Network
Additional Links	Game Notes | Tournament Central

CANYON, Texas – The #25 Lady Buffs make the 120 mile drive from Pueblo to Denver as they take part in the historic Colorado Premier Challenge beginning on Friday afternoon on the campus of Regis University with matchups against Anderson and #5 Ferris State.
 
COLORADO PREMIER CHALLENGE
The 12-team event features seven teams currently ranked inside of the AVCA Top 25 Poll including four teams inside of the Top 10.
 
WT is making their 19th trip to the Colorado Premier as they are 40-32 all-time at the event with 20 all-tournament selections and four tournament championships (1999, 2001, 2012, 2024).
 
ANDERSON
The Trojans enter the weekend with an overall record of 4-0 following wins over Lees-McRae, Fairmont State, Bowie State and East Stroudsburg during opening weekend at the Fairmont State Volleyball Classic. 
 
Ava Reeves leads the way offensively for the Trojans as the Lexington, South Carolina product has registered 43 kills with an attack percentage of .229 to go along with three aces, 22 digs and six blocks. The 2024 AVCA Honorable Mention All-American had 16 kills and 11 digs against Fairmont State.
 
2025 saw Anderson finish 23-8 overall with a 16-4 mark in South Atlantic Conference action. The Trojans made a run to the Southeast Regional Finals with wins over Augusta and Lenoir-Rhyne before falling to top-seeded Wingate in the finals. 
 
Anderson was picked atop of the SAC Preseason Coaches' Poll for the first time in program history. Five different Trojans were named to the Preseason All-Conference team as Reeves was joined by Ellie Nieporte, Emily Campbell, Mia Elder and Maura Kindel.
 
Friday afternoon will mark the first ever meeting on the volleyball court between the Lady Buffs and Trojans.
 
AU HEAD COACH TODD HAY
Todd Hay is now in his 10th season leading the Anderson University women's volleyball program as he holds an overall record of 205-61 during his time in South Carolina. Hay has guided the Trojans to a pair of SAC Championships (2017, 2021) as they have qualified for every NCAA Tournament under his leadership highlighted by a Southeast Regional Championship in 2023.
 
FERRIS STATE
The Bulldogs enter the weekend ranked #5 in the nation following a perfect 4-0 start to the season with wins over MSU Denver, Illinois-Springfield, Emporia State and Minnesota State in Big Rapids.
 
Gabby Piazza leads the way offensively for the Bulldogs as the junior has 45 kills on 93 swings with 14 errors for at attack percentage of .333 to go along with four aces, 27 digs and five total blocks. The Shorewood, Illinois product earned AVCA Honorable Mention All-American honors a year ago.
 
Ferris State reached their second consecutive NCAA Elite Eight last season as they went 27-8 overall and 13-3 in GLIAC action. The Bulldogs topped Quincy, Rockhurst and UIndy during the Midwest Regional Tournament before falling to Tamps in the National Quarterfinals.
 
The Bulldogs were selected atop of the GLIAC Preseason Coaches' Poll following a league title in 2025. FSU returns three 2025 First Team All-GLIAC honorees in Piazza, Emily May and Hayley Wegener.
 
Friday night marks the fifth all-time meeting between West Texas A&M and Ferris State as they teams are tied 2-2 in the series that dates back to 1991. The last meeting came in Canyon on September 5, 2024 as the Bulldogs claimed a five-set win at The Box.
 
FSU HEAD COACH TIA BRANDEL-WILHELM
Tia Brandel-Wilhelm is now in her 31st season at the helm of the Ferris State Bulldogs, holding a career record of 819-272 with 701 of those victories coming in Big Rapids. The Bulldogs have made 19 appearances in the NCAA Tournament under her guidance.
 
LONE STAR CONFERENCE PRESEASON POLL
Defending league champion Angelo State claimed 41 of the possible 54 first place votes to sit atop of the poll with 951 points followed by WT (seven first place, 883), Lubbock Christian (three first place, 837), UT Tyler (778) and St. Mary's (one first place, 698) to round out the top five.
 
Texas Woman's sits sixth followed by Oklahoma Christian, Texas A&M-Kingsville, DBU, Midwestern State, St. Edward's, UT Permian Basin, UT Dallas, Western New Mexico, Texas A&M International, Cameron and Eastern New Mexico.
 
THE GAMBLE ERA
Terry Gamble became the sixth head coach in WT history to lead the Lady Buffs to the NCAA Tournament during their inaugural season at the helm in 2025. The Three-time National Champion and NJCAA Hall of Famer was named the 17th head coach in Lady Buff Volleyball history on February 4, 2025. 
 
Gamble has compiled a career record of 1,127-360 (.759) as he was just the third head coach in NJCAA history to reach 1,000 career wins on October 15, 2024. Gamble came to Canyon following seven seasons at Blinn College. He was inducted into the NJCAA Volleyball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007 after winning three NJCAA volleyball championships (2000, 2004, 2006) and three NJCAA Coach of the Year awards.
 
LADY BUFFS IN THE AVCA POLL
The Lady Buffs are ranked tied for 25th in the newest edition of the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Top 25 Poll. It marks the 332nd time since 1986 that the Lady Buffs appear in the poll, the sixth most in Division II history. WT has sat atop of the poll 28 different times including twice during the 2023 campaign.