NAIA Top Ten

*Conference/Group Legend

CCAC – Chicagoland Athletic Conference

HAAC – Heart of America Athletic Conference

UG #1 – Unaffiliated Group #1 consisting of Appalachian Athletic Conference, Mid-South Conference, River States Conference, and Sun Conference

UG #2 – Unaffiliated Group #2 consisting of California Pacific Conference, Golden State Athletic Conference, and Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference

UG #3 – Unaffiliated Group #3 consisting of American Midwest Conference, Great Plains Athletic Conference, and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference

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 NAIA Coaches Poll (2/7/2017). The NAIA, or the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, publishes an outstanding bi-weekly poll for men’s volleyball its member coaches. Thus, NAIA Coaches are voting on the teams in the NAIA poll, providing their unique insights since these are the coaches who have seen the NAIA teams up-close and personal. The latest NAIA Coaches Poll is available on the NAIA website at www.NAIA.org.

2. 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, as well as the actual Pablo Rankings, on the MiddleHitter website at www.MiddleHitter.com.

In this Net Set Top Ten Ranking, Grand View is the unanimous Number 1, which rarely happens. Ottawa, Park, and Missouri Baptist are numbers 2, 3, and 4 respectively, and all three teams are in UG #3. The Hope International University Royals from UG #2 round out the top 5.

LET’S GROW VOLLEYBALL!