There are 310 DII women’s volleyball programs, spread all across the USA. Don’t forget the DII National Championship in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, on the campus of the University of Sioux Falls from December 8th through the 10th. Now, on to the Net Set DII Ranking for 11/8/2016.
| NS # | School | Conf. | Location | NCAA Region | 2016 W-L | NS Index | AVCA Poll | Pablo Rank | Regional RPI |
| 1 | Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears | Northern Sun | St. Paul, MN | Central | 22-2 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| T2 | Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs | Northern Sun | Duluth, MN | Central | 22-2 | 3.00 | 2 | 5 | 2 |
| T2 | SW Minnesota State Mustangs | Northern Sun | Marshall, MN | Central | 20-4 | 3.00 | 4 | 2 | 3 |
| 4 | Nebraska-Kearney Lopers | MIAA | Kearney, NE | Central | 28-1 | 3.33 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| T5 | Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals | Mountain East | Wheeling, WV | Atlantic | 28-2 | 5.00 | 5 | 9 | 1 |
| T5 | Winona State Warriors | Northern Sun | Winona, MN | Central | 22-3 | 5.00 | 6 | 4 | 5 |
| 7 | Angelo State Rams | Lone Star | San Angelo, TX | South Central | 23-2 | 5.67 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
| 8 | Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves | Great Northwest | Anchorage, AL | West | 23-2 | 6.33 | 11 | 7 | 1 |
| 9 | Augustana Vikings | Northern Sun | Sioux Falls, SD | Central | 22-4 | 7.00 | 7 | 8 | 6 |
| 10 | Wayne State Wildcats | Northern Sun | Wayne, NE | Central | 19-6 | 8.33 | 8 | 10 | 7 |
| 11 | Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish | Sunshine State | W. Palm Beach, FL | South | 21-3 | 8.67 | 12 | 13 | 1 |
| 12 | Central Oklahoma Bronchos | MIAA | Edmond, OK | Central | 25-2 | 9.67 | 9 | 12 | 8 |
| T13 | Lewis Flyers | GLVC | Romeoville, IL | Mid-West | 19-6 | 10.33 | 15 | 14 | 2 |
| T13 | Western Washington Vikings | Great Northwest | Bellingham, WA | West | 16-6 | 10.33 | 18 | 10 | 3 |
| 15 | Ferris State Bulldogs | GLIAC | Big Rapids, MI | Mid-West | 20-5 | 12.00 | 19 | 16 | 1 |
| 16 | Washburn Ichabods | MIAA | Topeka, KS | Central | 22-5 | 12.33 | 13 | 15 | 9 |
| 17 | CSU San Bernardino Coyotes | CCAA | San Bernardino, CA | West | 17-4 | 13.33 | 14 | 24 | 2 |
| 18 | MSU-Denver Roadrunners | Rocky Mountain | Denver, CO | South Central | 20-3 | 14.00 | 17 | 23 | 2 |
| 19 | Central Missouri Jennies | MIAA | Warrensburg, MO | Central | 17-8 | 15.67 | 16 | 20 | 11 |
| T20 | Colorado Mines Orediggers | Rocky Mountain | Golden, CO | South Central | 18-5 | 16.00 | 21 | 22 | 5 |
| T20 | Northern State Wolves | Northern Sun | Aberdeen, SD | Central | 16-8 | 16.00 | 20 | 18 | 10 |
| 22 | Concordia-Irvine Eagles | PAC West | Irvine, CA | West | 21-2 | 16.33 | 24 | 21 | 4 |
| 23 | North Alabama Lions | Gulf South | Florence, AL | South | 24-4 | 16.67 | 26 | 17 | 7 |
| 24 | Rockhurst Hawks | GLVC | Kansas City, MO | Mid-West | 21-5 | 17.33 | 23 | 26 | 3 |
| 25 | Tarleton State Tex-Anns | Lone Star | Stephenville, TX | South Central | 20-5 | 17.67 | 31 | 19 | 3 |
Net Set DII Rankings and the Net Set Index are an average from these three polls or rankings. The Net Set Ranking is a numerical average based upon the performances of teams in these polls or rankings. In the Net Set Ranking, the team’s position in each of the polls/ratings is summed and then averaged to create a Rank Index. This Rank Index is then arranged, or ranked, in ascending order, with the lowest Rank Index determining the number 1 team and so forth.
1. The AVCA Coaches DII Poll, 11/07/2016 (https://www.avca.org/polls/di-women/index.html).
AVCA, or the American Volleyball Coaches Association, publishes an outstanding weekly poll for each volleyball division from its member coaches in that division. Thus, DII coaches are voting on the teams in the DII poll, and these are the women and men who see these teams in action up close and personal, and undoubtedly one of the best sources on information for polls and ratings. To see the AVCA poll intact, with all 25 teams, first-place votes, adjusted ranking points, and other neat info, go to: (https://www.avca.org/polls/dii-women/11-7-16-dii-poll.html).
2. The Pablo DII Rankings, 11/07/2016. (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).
3. The NCAA Regional RPI Index, 11/02/2016 (http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d2/regional-rankings).
The RPI ranking is one of the discriminators for determining the at-large bids to the National Championship Tournament. Here is the basic formula for the Regional RPI rankings currently used by the NCAA. Please note that several variations of this formula exist, but the one below is the basic formula.
RPI = (Winning %*.25) + (Opponent’s Winning %*.50) + (Opponent’s Opponents Winning *.25)
(Winning % is calculated by dividing team’s wins by the number of games played.)
As you can see from this formula above, 75% of the Regional RPI comes from how a team’s opponents performed (aka Strength of Schedule), while only 25% of the RPI is based on the team’s actual performance. Quite frankly, that isn’t correct, statistically or logically. Nonetheless, it is used by the NCAA for seeding and at-large bids. To see the all NCAA Division II Regional RPI Index rankings, go to this web location:
(http://www.ncaa.com/rankings/volleyball-women/d2/regional-rankings).
What is NCAA Division II, or DII? Well, straight from the NCAA website we read the following explanation. “Division II institutions have to sponsor at least five sports for men and five for women, (or four for men and six for women), with two team sports for each gender, and each playing season represented by each gender. There are contest and participant minimums for each sport, as well as scheduling criteria — football and men’s and women’s basketball teams must play at least 50 percent of their games against Division II or Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly Division I-A) or Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA) opponents. For sports other than football and basketball there are no scheduling requirements. There are no attendance requirements for football, or arena game requirements for basketball. There are maximum financial aid awards for each sport that a Division II school must not exceed. Division II teams usually feature a number of local or in-state student-athletes. Many Division II student-athletes pay for school through a combination of scholarship money, grants, student loans and employment earnings. Division II athletics programs are financed in the institution’s budget like other academic departments on campus. Traditional rivalries with regional institutions dominate schedules of many Division II athletics programs.”
LET’S GROW VOLLEYBALL!
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