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 11/1/2016.
| Net Set # | School & Nickname | Conference | Location | 2016 W-L | Rank Index | AVCA Poll | Pablo Rank |
| 1 | Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears | Northern Sun | St. Paul, MN | 22-2 | 1.00 | 1 | 1 |
| T2 | SW Minnesota State Mustangs | Northern Sun | Marshall, MN | 20-4 | 3.00 | 4 | 2 |
| T2 | Nebraska-Kearney Lopers | MIAA | Kearney, NE | 28-1 | 3.00 | 3 | 3 |
| 4 | Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs | Northern Sun | Duluth, MN | 22-2 | 3.50 | 2 | 5 |
| 5 | Winona State Warriors | Northern Sun | Winona, MN | 22-3 | 5.00 | 6 | 4 |
| 6 | Augustana Vikings | Northern Sun | Sioux Falls, SD | 22-4 | 6.50 | 7 | 6 |
| 7 | Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals | Mountain East | Wheeling, WV | 28-2 | 7.00 | 5 | 9 |
| T8 | Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves | Great Northwest | Anchorage, AL | 23-2 | 9.00 | 11 | 7 |
| T8 | Angelo State Rams | Lone Star | San Angelo, TX | 23-2 | 9.00 | 10 | 8 |
| 10 | Wayne State Wildcats | Northern Sun | Wayne, NE Ce | 19-6 | 9.50 | 8 | 11 |
| 11 | Central Oklahoma Bronchos | MIAA | Edmond, OK | 25-2 | 10.50 | 9 | 12 |
| T12 | Western Washington Vikings | Great Northwest | Bellingham, WA | 16-6 | 12.50 | 15 | 10 |
| T12 | Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish | Sunshine State | W. Palm Beach, FL | 21-3 | 12.50 | 12 | 13 |
| T14 | Washburn Ichabods | MIAA | Topeka, KS | 22-5 | 15.00 | 13 | 17 |
| T14 | Northern State Wolves | Northern Sun | Aberdeen, SD | 16-8 | 15.00 | 14 | 16 |
| 16 | Lewis Flyers | GLVC | Romeoville, IL | 19-6 | 16.00 | 18 | 14 |
| 17 | Ferris State Bulldogs | GLIAC | Big Rapids, MI | 20-5 | 17.50 | 20 | 15 |
| 18 | Central Missouri Jennies | MIAA | Warrensburg, MO | 17-8 | 18.50 | 16 | 21 |
| 19 | Colorado Mines Orediggers | Rocky Mountain | Golden, CO | 18-5 | 21.00 | 22 | 20 |
| 20 | CSU San Bernardino Coyotes | CCAA | San Bernardino, CA | 17-4 | 22.50 | 17 | 28 |
| 21 | North Alabama Lions | Gulf South | Florence, AL | 24-4 | 23.00 | 28 | 18 |
| 22 | MSU-Denver Roadrunners | Rocky Mountain | Denver, CO | 20-3 | 23.50 | 19 | 28 |
| 23 | Tarleton State Tex-Anns | Lone Star | Stephenville, TX | 20-5 | 24.50 | 30 | 19 |
| 24 | Concordia-Irvine Eagles | PAC West | Irvine, CA | 21-2 | 24.50 | 25 | 24 |
| T25 | Colorado Mesa Mavericks | Rocky Mountain | Grand Junction, CO | 18-4 | 26.00 | 27 | 25 |
| T25 | Rockhurst Hawks | GLVC | Kansas City, MO | 21-5 | 26.00 | 27 | 25 |
Net Set DII Rankings and the Rank Index are an average from these two 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 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 Poll (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/10-31-16-dii-poll.html). Here’s a synopsis of the AVCA DII Poll from 11/1/2016.
| AVCA Poll | School & Nickname | Conference | Location | 2016 W-L | Last Week |
| 1 | Concordia-St. Paul Golden Bears | Northern Sun | St. Paul, MN | 22-2 | 3 |
| 2 | Minnesota-Duluth Bulldogs | Northern Sun | Duluth, MN | 22-2 | 1 |
| 3 | Nebraska-Kearney Lopers | MIAA | Kearney, NE | 28-1 | 4 |
| 4 | SW Minnesota State Mustangs | Northern Sun | Marshall, MN | 20-4 | 2 |
| 5 | Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals | Mountain East | Wheeling, WV | 28-2 | 5 |
| 6 | Winona State Warriors | Northern Sun | Winona, MN | 22-3 | 6 |
| 7 | Augustana Vikings | Northern Sun | Sioux Falls, SD | 22-4 | 7 |
| 8 | Wayne State Wildcats | Northern Sun | Wayne, NE Ce | 19-6 | 8 |
| 9 | Central Oklahoma Bronchos | MIAA | Edmond, OK | 25-2 | 9 |
| 10 | Angelo State Rams | Lone Star | San Angelo, TX | 23-2 | 10 |
| 11 | Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves | Great Northwest | Anchorage, AL | 23-2 | 11 |
| 12 | Palm Beach Atlantic Sailfish | Sunshine State | W. Palm Beach, FL | 21-3 | 12 |
| 13 | Washburn Ichabods | MIAA | Topeka, KS | 22-5 | 14 |
| 14 | Northern State Wolves | Northern Sun | Aberdeen, SD | 16-8 | 13 |
| 15 | Western Washington Vikings | Great Northwest | Bellingham, WA | 16-6 | 17 |
| 16 | Central Missouri Jennies | MIAA | Warrensburg, MO | 17-8 | 15 |
| 17 | CSU San Bernardino Coyotes | CCAA | San Bernardino, CA | 17-4 | 18 |
| 18 | Lewis Flyers | GLVC | Romeoville, IL | 19-6 | 19 |
| 19 | MSU-Denver Roadrunners | Rocky Mountain | Denver, CO | 20-3 | 20 |
| 20 | Ferris State Bulldogs | GLIAC | Big Rapids, MI | 20-5 | 21 |
| 21 | NW Missouri State Bearcats | MIAA | Maryville, MO | 22-4 | 16 |
| 22 | Colorado Mines Orediggers | Rocky Mountain | Golden, CO | 18-5 | 22 |
| 23 | Tampa Spartans | Sunshine State | Tampa, FL | 17-6 | 23 |
| 24 | Rockhurst Hawks | GLVC | Kansas City, MO | 21-5 | 25 |
| 25 | Concordia-Irvine Eagles | PAC West | Irvine, CA | 21-2 | NR |
2. The Pablo Rankings (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).
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!
Add The Sports Daily to your Google News Feed!
