DI and DII Top Ten 2/7/17

When applied to sports teams, a poll (sometimes called a rating) involves an opinion of a team’s performances by someone who is knowledgeable about both the sport involved and the team in question. A poll is therefore an informed opinion and a subsequent ordering of teams based upon this informed opinion. A ranking involves an analysis, either mathematical or statistical, based on the performance of a team and the performances of its opponents. A ranking is therefore a mathematical or statistical analysis which evaluates the performances of teams. Polls and rankings complement each other because each represents a different viewpoint and a different “skill set” in terms of evaluating volleyball performance.

The Net Set Ranking is a mathematical, numerical average based upon the performances of teams in three other polls/rankings. In the Net Set Ranking, the team’s position in each of the three other polls is totaled and then averaged to create a Net Set Index. This Net Set Index is then arranged, or ranked, in ascending order, with the lowest Net Set Index determining the number 1 team, the next lowest Net Set Index determining the number 2 team, and so forth. By combining polls and rankings into a single index number, we obtain both the mathematical benefits of the rankings and the human performance insights of coaches and journalists from the polls.

Net Set Rankings and the Net Set Index are a mathematical average from these three polls/rankings.

1. The AVCA Coaches Poll (2/6/2017). The AVCA, or the American Volleyball Coaches Association, publishes an outstanding weekly poll for each volleyball division from its member coaches in that division. Thus, DI – DII Coaches are voting on the teams in the DI – DII poll, providing their unique insights since these are the coaches who have seen the DI and DII teams up-close and personal. The latest AVCA Coaches Poll is available on the AVCA website at www.avca.org.

2. OTB/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll (2/7/2017). The Off the Block/Springbak, Inc. National Media Poll is the only ranking in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball solely determined by media members. The 10 teams receiving the most votes are ranked in the National Media Poll. The latest OTB poll is available on the Off the Block blog at www.OfftheBlockblog.com.

3. The Pablo Rankings (2/6/2017). 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 probabilistic model available today. You can find a detailed explanation of the Pablo Rankings on the MiddleHitter website at www.MiddleHitter.com.

In the Net Set Top Ten Ranking below, Ohio State is the unanimous Number 1, which rarely happens. Seven of the 11 teams (63.6%) play in the MPSF and the remaining four teams (36.4%) play in the MIVA. Neither the Conference Carolinas nor the EIVA cracked this ranking. However, there are only 46 teams total in NCAA DI – DII, counting four teams from Puerto Rico which are DII members but rarely play in the continental US. The Top Ten teams represent 21.7% of those 46 teams.

LET’S GROW VOLLEYBALL!