The University of Colorado Colorado Springs volleyball team begins the 2013 regular season this Friday, as the Mountain Lions travel to Canyon, Texas to participate in the BritKare Lady Buff Classic. 

UCCS officially kicks off the season at 10 a.m. as they take on Lubbock Christian University. Lubbock Christian begins its first season as a member of the NCAA Division II Heartland Conference after being in the NAIA for the last 43 years. The Lady Chaps have a young squad this season, with eight underclassmen, four juniors, and zero seniors on their roster. Last season, the team finished with an overall record of 23-9. The Lady Chaps and the Mountain Lions are tied 1-1 in the all-time series. 

The Mountain Lion will continue in the tournament with another match on Friday as they face Texas-Permian Basin at 4:30 p.m. The Falcons finished last season with an overall record of 13-16 and a conference record of 6-8.  This will be the first ever meeting between UCCC and Texas-Permian Basin. The Falcons are led on offense by Melissa Luck, who led the team last season in kills (311) and kills per set (2.96).

The BritKare Lady Buff Classic concludes on Saturday, after UCCS plays two more matches against Incarnate Word and tournament host West Texas A&M. 

UCCS faces Incarnate Word on Saturday at 10 a.m. The Cardinals finished the 2012 season with an overall record of 10-21 and a conference record of 7-13. Incarnate Word leads the all-time series against UCCS 1-0 with a 3-1 victory in September of 2003. 

The Mountain Lions finish the tournament on Saturday with a match against the host team, West Texas A&M at 6:30 p.m.  The Lady Buffs lead the all-time series against the Mountain Lions 1-0 after the winning the only match between the two teams, 3-2 in September 2011. 

The UCCS Mountain Lions return two starters from last season, while introducing first year head coach, Chrissy Elder. Last season, UCCS finished with an overall record of 18-11 and a conference record of 12-7, while making it to the quarterfinal match of the 2012 RMAC tournament. The Mountain Lions also posted a 10-4 home record, which matches the best home record in program history.