CHADRON – The Chadron State College volleyball team will open its Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference schedule this weekend by playing a pair of nationally ranked opponents in Denver.
 
The Eagles will tangle with No. 9 ranked Metro State at 7 p.m. Friday and play at No. 25 ranked Regis at 5 p.m. Saturday.
 
The Eagles have a 2-6 record after playing in two tournaments to open the season.
 
Metro State is 5-3 for the season and Regis is 5-4. Both have played some outstanding competition
 
Metro State began its season by beating three California teams and losing to Central Washington at a tournament in California.
 
Regis went 1-3 that same weekend with two of its losses to Southwest Minnesota and Concordia-St. Paul, which are ranked second and third, respectively, in the national Division II poll.
 
Last weekend, both teams participated in the Colorado Premier Challenge against more outstanding opponents.  The Metro Roadrunners lost to Concordia-St. Paul and to West Texas A&M, but beat No. 5 ranked Central Missouri and Abilene Christian.
 
The Regis Rangers went 4-1 in the Colorado Challenge, losing only to the University of Tampa.
 
Metro is led by 5-foot-9 sophomore Lauren Quinjano, who was placed on the Coaches' Preseason All-Conference Team. So far Quinjano has a .343 hitting percentage and 99 kills, one more than her teammate, Alysa Heath, a 5-11 junior.
 
Regis' top hitter has been Kate Klein, a 5-10 redshirt freshman who has 112 kills.
 
The Eagles' top attacker is Mallory Irvine, who was recently named to the Black Hills State All-Tournament team. Irvine, a junior from Ravenna, has 70 kills in eight matches and is hitting a whopping .235. She also has a team-high 27 blocks.