Rainbow Wahine slide in volleyball rankings after loss to UC Irvine
The Hawaii women’s volleyball team today opened at 14 in the first Ratings Percentage Index of the season, a computer-generated system used by the NCAA selection committee for postseason seeding and hosting duties.
Teams with 16 or better RPI at the end of the regular season have usually been awarded one of 16 subregionals, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. Hawaii had been projected to have an RPI of 3 before being upset by UC Irvine on Friday; the Anteaters opened with an RPI of 202 today out of 335 teams.
Baylor (13-0), the lone unbeaten in Division I, topped the RPI list as well as today’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25 poll. The Bears received 60 of the 64 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 for the second consecutive week.
The Rainbow Wahine (13-2, 3-1 Big West) dropped eight spots to No. 19 in the poll. Hawaii is the only Big West team ranked, however, UC Santa Barbara (15-1, 5-0 BWC) received enough votes to put the Gauchos outside the Top 25 at 28th.
Defending national champion Stanford (9-3, 3 votes) moved up a spot to No. 2 and Pitt (15-1, 1 vote) up one place to No. 3. Washington (11-3), which Hawaii defeated in the season-opening tournament, dropped three spots to No. 11 and Missouri (10-3), which Hawaii beat at last month’s Baylor Invitational, stayed at No. 22.
Hawaii resumes conference play on the road with matches at league-leaders Cal Poly (12-5, 5-0) on Friday and UCSB on Saturday. The Mustangs opened with a 50 RPI and the Gauchos 35.
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