NAIA Rankings and Tournament Stuff!

With 219 teams (according to the NAIA website, http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205323158), NAIA women’s volleyball programs are spread all across the USA. We are entering the “Opening Rounds” phase of the NAIA Women’s National Volleyball Championship, which are played at various campus sites across the nation. After these opening rounds, we’ll enter the “Pool Play” phase of the tournament.

37th Annual NAIA Women’s Volleyball National Championship, presented by F&M Bank and Absolute Screen Art
Nov. 19, 2016 – Opening Rounds @ Campus Sites
Nov. 29 – Dec. 3, 2016 – Pool Play and Final Rounds @ Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa

Opening Rounds
November 19 at Campus Sites, All times local

Match 1 Cornerstone (Michigan) (32-8) at Union (Kentucky) (32-9), 4 p.m. EST
Live Stats  | Live Video*
Match 2 La Sierra (California) (15-12) at Biola (California) (23-9), 7 p.m. PST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 3 Haskell (Kansas) (13-14) at Bellevue (Nebraska) (30-10), 2 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 4 Mount Vernon Nazarene (Ohio) 31-5) at Corban (Oregon) 22-6), 6 p.m. PST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 5 IU South Bend (Indiana) (18-21) at Montana Tech (22-9), 6 p.m. MST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 6 Point Park (Pennsylvania.) 20-14 at Madonna (Michigan) (30-7), 12 p.m. EST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 7 Webber International (Florida) (28-2) at Mobile (Alabama) (30-8), 7 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 8 IU Kokomo (Indiana) (26-7) at Ottawa (Kansas) (31-7), 2 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 9 St. Francis (Illinois) (29-11) at Xavier (Louisiana) (16-16), 4 p.m. EST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 10 Ozarks (Missouri) (28-13) at Our Lady of the Lake (Texas) (25-6), 1 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 11 Tabor (Kansas) (25-9) at Wayland Baptist (Texas) 24-15), 6 p.m. CST
Live Stats | Live Video*
Match 12 St. Andrews (North Carolina) (22-14) at Coastal Georgia (28-8), 7 p.m. EST
Live Stats | Live Video*

Here are the top 25 programs from the November 18, 2016, Net Set Rankings for NAIA women’s volleyball.

NS #

School//Location Conference 2016

W-L

NAIA Poll Pablo Rank NS Index
T1 Hastings Broncos//Hastings, NE GPAC 26-3 3 1

2.00

T1 Westmont Warriors//Montecito, CA GSAC 31-0 1 3 2.00
3 Lindsey Wilson Blue Raiders//Columbia, KY Mid-South 31-1 4 2 3.00
4 Viterbo V-Hawks//Beloit, WI North Star 40-2 2 6 4.00
T5 Eastern Oregon Mountaineers//La Grande, OR Cascade 28-2 6 5 5.50
T5 Park Pirates//Parkville, MO AMC 32-2 7 4 5.50
7 Midland Warriors//Fremont, NE GPAC 26-3 5 7 6.00
8 Dordt Defenders//Sioux Center, IA GPAC 22-7 8 10 9.00
T9 Grand View Vikings//Des Moines, IA HAAC 29-6 8 11 9.50
T9 Lourdes Gray Wolves//Sylvania, OH WHAC 26-5 10 9 9.50
11 Indiana Wesleyan Wildcats//Marion, IN Crossroads 34-2 16 8 12.00
T12 Georgetown Tigers//Georgetown, KY Mid-South 29-7 11 14 12.50
T12 MidAmerica Nazarene Pioneers//Olathe, KS HAAC 27-7 13 12 12.50
T12 Oklahoma City Stars//Oklahoma City, OK Sooner 30-3 12 13 12.50
T15 Columbia Cougars//Columbia, MO AMC 26-11 17 16 16.50
T15 Doane Tigers//Crete, NE GPAC 23-8 15 18 16.50
17 Missouri Baptist Spartans//St. Louis, MO AMC 28-8 14 20 17.00
18 Corban Warriors//Salem, OR Cascade 22-6 23 15 19.00
19 Carroll College Saints//Helena, MT Frontier 23-6 18 23 20.50
T20 Biola Eagles//La Mirada, CA GSAC 23-9 21 21 21.00
T20 Madonna Crusaders//Livonia, MI WHAC 30-7 25 17 21.00
22 Montana Tech Orediggers//Butte, MT Frontier 22-9 24 19 21.50
23 Bellevue Bruins//Bellevue, NE North Star 30-10 22 23 22.50
24 Jamestown “Jimmies”//Jamestown, ND North Star 25-13 19 28 23.50
25 Cornerstone Golden Eagles//Grand Rapids, MI WHAC 32-8 20 29 24.50

But, what is the NAIA? From the NAIA website (http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=205323019) we obtain this description.

“The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), headquartered in Kansas City, Mo., is a governing body of small athletics programs that are dedicated to character-driven intercollegiate athletics. Since 1937, the NAIA has administered programs and championships in proper balance with the overall college educational experience. The student-athlete is the center of all NAIA experiences. Each year more than 60,000 student-athletes have the opportunity to play college sports at NAIA member institutions.”

And, after reading that explanation of what the NAIA represents, I’ll explain the methodology used to derive the Net Set NAIA Rankings.

Net Set (NS) NAIA Rankings and the NS Index are an average from the two polls or rankings listed below. The NS Rank is a numerical average based upon the positions of teams in these polls or rankings. In the Net Set Ranking, the team’s position in each poll or ranking is summed and then averaged to create the NS Index. This NS Index is then arranged, or ranked, in ascending order, with the lowest NS Index determining the number 1 team, the second lowest NS index determining the number 2 team, and so forth.

1. Tachikara-NAIA Volleyball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll, 11/14/16 (http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211266974).

This poll was voted upon by a panel of head coaches representing each of the NAIA conferences, the NAIA Association of Independent Institutions, and various NAIA Unaffiliated Groups. Thus, NAIA coaches are voting on the teams in the NAIA poll, and these are the women and men who see these teams in action up close and personal, and undoubtedly are one of the best sources on information for this poll. To see the most recent (November 14, 2016) NAIA poll intact, with all 25 teams, first-place votes, ranking points, and other neat info, go to: (http://www.naia.org/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=27900&ATCLID=211266974).

2. The Pablo Rankings, 11/14/16 (http://www.richkern.com/vb/FreePage.asp).

The Pablo Rankings are an incredibly ingenious ranking system that operates on a probabilistic, algorithmic approach and analyzes and measures the difference in abilities between two teams overall and in a match. In terms of accuracy and predictive analytics, the Pablo Rankings are the most accurate mathematical model available today. You can find a detailed explanation of the Pablo Rankings at this web location: (http://www.richkern.com/vb/rankings/PabloFAQ.asp).

View the Pablo Rankings, the best pure statistical ranking available, at RichKern.com: (http://www.richkern.com/vb/rankings/FreePageRankings.asp).

Also, here’s a quick analysis of the NAIA conferences in this rating along with their full conference names and the number of teams each conference has in the ranking.

Conference Abbreviation Full Name of Conference Teams in Ranking
AMC American Midwest Conference 3
Cascade Cascade Collegiate Conference 2
Crossroads Crossroads League 1
Frontier Frontier Conference 2
GPAC Great Plains Athletic Conference 4
GSAC Golden State Athletic Conference 2
HAAC Heart of America Athletic Conference 2
Mid-South Mid-South Conference 2
North Star North Star Athletic Association 3
Sooner Sooner Athletic Conference 1
WHAC Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference 3

Let’s Grow Volleyball.

Arrow to top