Colorado Mesa will once again begin their season in the Courtyard by Marriott / Residence Inn Oredigger Classic hosted by Colorado Mines. The Mavericks will have four matches with two of them being crucial South Central Region opponents. A short preview of each team is listed below.

St. Joseph's College Pumas
Friday August 31 | 3:00pm Court 2
All-Time Series: 0-0
Last Meeting: First Meeting

About St. Joseph's: In 2011, the Pumas finished the season with a 10-18 record and ended their season on a 6-match losing streak. St. Joseph's has a good nucleus returning and picked up a couple of key defenders to shore up their defense.

St. Joseph's was pick to finish sixth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) East Division. Indianapolis was picked to win the GLVC East.

St. Joseph's Players to Watch: The Pumas return two of their top attackers from last season in Lisa Parsons (So. , Elkhart, Ind.) and Maggie Walters (Sr. , Sutton's Bay, Mich.) Parsons finished last season with 171 kills (1.86/set) and Walters had 124 kills. Both will be looked upon to lead St. Joseph's.

Wayne State College Wildcats
Friday August 31 | 5:30pm Court 1 | Live Stats | Live Video
All-Time Series: 0-2 (Both losses came in a neutral setting)
Last Meeting: August 29, 2008  -  WSC 3-1

About Wayne State: Last season the Wildcats finished the season with a 23-8 mark and will look to make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. Wayne got a couple of big wins last season including a win over NCAA National Champion Concordia St. Paul.

Wayne State is ranked 12 in the AVCA Preaseason rankings and finished last season ranked 10th. The Wildcats are picked to finish fourth with Five-Time Defending National Champion Concordia St-Paul picked to win the NSIC.

Wayne State Players to Watch: Wayne returns two of its top three attackers and its top setter from a year ago. Cori Hobbs (Jr. , Battle Creek, Neb.) was second on the team in kills with 302 and Melanie Placke (Sr. , St. Libory, Neb.) was second on the team in attack percentage at .298. Tatum Wroblewski (Jr. , St. Paul, Neb.) was the top setter with 1195 assists (11.06/set)

University of Incarnate Word Cardinals
Saturday September 1 | 10:00am Court 2
All-Time Series: 1-0
Last Meeting:  August 25, 2007  -  CMU 3-1 (Neutral Site)

About Incarnate Word: The Cardinals finished last season with a mark of 12-18 in the tough Lone Star Conference (LSC). They deafeted RMAC foe New Mexico Highlands 3-1 in the West Texas A&M Lady Buff Tournament and had key wins over Texas Woman's and Abilene Christian along the way.

Incarnate Word is picked to finish tenth in the Lone Star Conference with perennial powers West Texas A&M and Angelo State slated to finish first and second.

Incarnate Word Players to Watch: The Cardinals return their top two attackers from last season in Daniella Vidaurri (So. , San Antonio, Texas) and Stephanie Bonura (Sr. , Houston, Texas). Vidaurri led the team in kills a year ago with 280 (2.31/set) and Bonura was second with 256 (2.64/set.)

Incarnate Word also returns their setter and libero. Danielle Suarez (Jr. , San Antonio, Texas) finished last season with 584 assists (5.51/set) and Lydia Werchan (Sr. , Spring Branch, Texas) led the team in digs with 577 (4.81/set)

Dallas Baptist University Patriots
Saturday September 1 | 2:30pm Court 1 | Live Stats | Live Video
All-Time Series: 3-0 (All Neutral Site)
Last Meeting: August 27, 2005  -  CMU 3-1

About Dallas Baptist: The Patriots finished last season with a 22-17 record and earned themselves a trip to the NCCAA National Championships. They also finished in a three-way tie for the fourth and final spot in the Heartland Conference Tournament.

DBU is picked to finish third this season in the Heartland Conference behind Arkansas-Fort Smith and St. Edward's.

Dallas Baptist Players to Watch: Krystal Wunderlich (Jr. , Granbury, Texas), Tyler Bradsher (Jr. , Allen, Texas) and Cameron Hartson (Jr. , Midlothian, Texas) will be looked upon to lead the Patriots this season. Wunderlich was second on the team last season with 380 kills while Bradsher led the team in assists with 1419 (9.65/set.)

Hartson is the top returning defender as she had 686 digs last season