The Washington Huskies, fresh off two more wins, retained their lofty
position in national rankings. UW is third in both the AVCA Coaches’ Poll and the Volleyball
Magazine media poll, and fourth in the NCAA’s RPI.
 |
| Washington's Cassie Strickland passes against Colorado -photo by Shutter Geeks Photography |
Washington (19-1) is one of only
three teams (out of 328) with fewer than two losses. Missouri (27-0) and Colorado
State (21-0) remain undefeated. This ties the Huskies’ third-best record
after 20 matches; they were 20-0 in 2004 (losing their 23rd match to
Stanford and their 25th to USC), they were 20-0 in 2005 (losing
their only match of their National Championship season in match 25 at UCLA),
and they were 19-1 in 2007 (losing their 17th match to California
and their 24th match to Stanford.)
The only Top 10 team to lose this
week was #6 Stanford (15-5), losing
for a second time this season to #4 Southern
Cal (20-3). #19 North Carolina
(20-3) lost twice this week, to #18 Florida
State (17-6) and to Keno Gandara’s
unranked Miami team (14-7).
Voters are still drinking the Big Ten Kool Aid. Michigan State (18-6) comes in at #13 despite losing 5 of its past
6 (are you kidding me?) Michigan
(15-8) is still at #17 on the “strength” of losing 3 of 5—it’s two wins coming
against Michigan State (see above) and unranked Ohio State. The Buckeyes (14-10) are experiencing an epic collapse,
losing 8 in a row and 10 of 11 after starting the season 13-0. Even so, this is
only the first week Ohio State failed to draw a single vote on any ballot.
BYU (19-4)--winner of 14 of its previous 15--deserves to be ranked above Michigan and Michigan State. And Volleyblog Seattle still loves Central Arkansas (22-3); the Sugar Bears have won 15 straight.
BYU (19-4)--winner of 14 of its previous 15--deserves to be ranked above Michigan and Michigan State. And Volleyblog Seattle still loves Central Arkansas (22-3); the Sugar Bears have won 15 straight.
This week’s AVCA and Volleyball Magazine polls, with Volleyblog Seattle’s ballot in the Volleyball Magazine media poll:
WEEK ELEVEN
AVCA Coaches
|
VBM
Media
|
RPI
|
School
(First Place AVCA votes)
|
Volleyblog
Seattle
|
|
This Week
|
Last Week
|
||||
1
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
Texas (41)
|
3
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
2
|
Penn St (14)
|
2
|
3
|
3
|
3
|
4
|
Washington
(5)
|
1
|
4
|
4
|
4
|
5
|
Southern
Cal
|
4
|
5
|
5
|
5
|
3
|
Florida
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
7
|
7
|
Stanford
|
5
|
7
|
7
|
6
|
6
|
Missouri
|
6
|
8
|
8
|
8
|
15
|
San Diego
|
10
|
9
|
10
|
9
|
10
|
Minnesota
|
9
|
10
|
9
|
10
|
20
|
Colorado
St
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
11
|
8
|
Nebraska
|
8
|
12
|
13
|
12
|
16
|
Hawai’i
|
13
|
13
|
14
|
13
|
22
|
Michigan
St
|
NR
|
14
|
16
|
16
|
30
|
Purdue
|
NR
|
15
|
18
|
15
|
14
|
Duke
|
14
|
16
|
15
|
14
|
13
|
Wisconsin
|
17
|
17
|
17
|
18
|
25
|
Michigan
|
NR
|
18
|
20
|
17
|
21
|
Florida St
|
15
|
19
|
12
|
19
|
28
|
North
Carolina
|
16
|
20
|
19
|
20
|
12
|
Kentucky
|
18
|
21
|
21
|
NR
|
24
|
BYU
|
12
|
22
|
22
|
NR
|
29
|
California
|
NR
|
23
|
24
|
NR
|
47
|
Cal St
Northridge
|
NR
|
24
|
NR
|
NR
|
17
|
Kansas
|
19
|
25
|
NR
|
NR
|
33
|
Iowa St
|
NR
|
NR
|
23
|
NR
|
37
|
Oregon
|
NR
|
NR
|
25
|
NR
|
19
|
Oklahoma
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
58
|
Central
Arkansas
|
20
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
40
|
Ohio St
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
27
|
Arizona
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
9
|
Creighton
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
11
|
Marquette
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
18
|
Utah
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
NR
|
23
|
Illinois
|
NR
|
Others
Receiving Votes and appearing on two or more AVCA ballots: Oregon
43; St. Mary's (CA) 36; Oklahoma 27; Marquette 26; Western Kentucky 25; Ohio
14; Colorado 12; Illinois 7; Arizona State 6; Northwestern 3; Arizona 2
Others
receiving Volleyball Magazine votes: BYU, California, CS Northridge,
Kansas, Central Arkansas
Volleyblog
Seattle is one of ten national voters in the weekly Volleyball Magazine
Division 1 Women’s Volleyball Poll.
Photos courtesy Shutter
Geeks Photography
Seems the authors forgot that Michigan returned all but one starter from its 2012 Final Four team. More importantly, in terms of matches against ranked opponents this season Michigan has fared well. Besides the sweep of Michigan State (when it was #10) mentioned in this blog article, Michigan also defeated Oregon when it was #12, Wisconsin when it was #15, and Ohio when it was #24. How does this blog neglect those key Michigan wins? By the way, Michigan also played to 5 sets against Florida State when it was #16 (losing by 2 points in the 5th set). In losses against ranked opponents I think it is helpful to look at the box scores. You will find that Michigan has dealt Penn State, Nebraska, Minnesota and Purdue their most lopsided set losses of 2013 where Michigan's margin of victory in those sets was 9, 15, 10, and 12 points respectively against those opponents. I think that says plenty about why Michigan has received significant votes through this past Monday and deserves to be at #17.
ReplyDeleteWith its loss tonight to Illinois (11-12), Michigan has dropped 3 of 4 and 4 of its last 6, to bring its conference record to 5-8 ...
DeleteYou make some solid points. Voters did, however, hang on to Ohio State far too long, and we'll watch whether they make the same mistake if the Michigan/Michigan State losses continue to mount. Thanks for your analysis.
ReplyDeleteRankings are so subjective. The huskies are playing well and should remain focused on getting to Key Arena and not rankings.
ReplyDelete