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Steamboat Springs — Chad Bond knows good volleyball.

He's helped his wife, Tanya, mold Eaglecrest High School in Cherry Creek into one of Colorado's premier volleyball programs.

So as he surveyed the open divisions of the 27th annual Steamboat Powderkeg Volleyball Tournament on Saturday, Bond was quick to point out it's one of the top outdoor tournaments in Colorado.

"I haven't played indoor in five years," Bond said after he and his partner Mike Miller won a match. "In outdoor, you have to be involved in everything and : you have to have a complete game. There's great indoor players here that are not good outdoor players. In indoor you can sit back and wait for the set and then go bomb. Here you have to have full ball control."

Bond and Miller were one of 16 teams battling for the open division crown. The women's open division - with equally tough competition - featured some of the best 24 teams from across the region.

"There's teams from Utah and New Mexico," Miller said. "People come from all over to play in this one. There's 16 very good teams. There's probably 13 teams here that on any given day could win."

The tournament also featured men and women's grass court play. The tournament will wrap up today with the finals in the open divisions as well as a coed tournament.

"Right now, we're at about 350 teams," tournament director Doug Arritola said. "The open divisions definitely feature some of the top players in Colorado."

In addition to players such as Bond and Miller, who have been coming to the tournament for 10 years, Arritola said they'll also draw former collegiate and professional players.

Arritola, who works for Volleyball in the Rockies, said his organization runs more than 800 games of recreational volleyball in the Denver metro area each week.

The company is stationed at a facility called The Island, which has four indoor courts and two outdoor courts.

"We have volleyball all year round," Arritola said.

Along with the games and tournaments they put on across Denver and the Front Range, Arritola said there are tournaments in Breckenridge, Vail and Aspen.

The Steamboat event, however, usually draws the top players.