:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67573126/ISU_Vball-1.0.0.jpg)
- Texas
- Baylor
- Kentucky
- Florida
- Syracuse
- Notre Dame
- Missouri
- Texas A&M
- Kansas
- Pittsburgh
The NCAA coaches ranked the teams, but only from among those leagues that are competing this fall. They only took the rankings out to 15 spots, and then had a list of others receiving votes.
Big question: Does this list matter?
No, not really.
Because, mainly, the volleyball championship tournament was moved to the Spring (April 23-25). And, most of these teams playing right now decided to compete in the Fall prior to the championship postponement to from the traditional December dates. So this list is fun, but it doesn’t really matter for any purpose of determining who the champion is going to be. Also, The B1G and PAC-12, leagues who have combined to win of 21 of the last 25 NCAA Div 1 titles, are not in the mix at present. Tough to have a legit poll without Stanford, Nebraska, or Penn State, who have combined for 8 of the last 10 titles!
Now, there is no doubt these teams are competing with all their energy and trying to win every match, but even these world class competitors know this is a wonky season, which could get cancelled at any moment, and whose the end goal keeps changing. It reminds me of a poster that hung in my middle school gym; kid is outside with a basketball and a hoop and underneath it says, “if you don’t have a goal, you have nothing to shoot for”. So, for the athletes suiting up each week, what are they shooting for?
Nonetheless, coaches are going to work with their staff and teams to set goals, independent of the championship, and keep their players focused on the things they can control. But, what, exactly, does that mean? Coach Cook and Coach Rose (PSU) talk a bit about it on the September episode of Conversations with Cooks.
I am just enjoying the volleyball I can watch right now regardless of who is playing and looking forward to the Spring and fierce competition from hungry teams.