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Check out everything you need to know about the college men’s volleyball bracketology so far this season and for the upcoming matches this weekend.
Conference RPI
Non-conference results are what ultimately determine a conference’s RPI ranking. The ranking is based on a conference’s combined winning percentage against NCAA opponents. Every conference match results in one winner and one loser, which in terms of conference winning percentage means it’s always guaranteed to be at .500. As a result, non-conference results are the greatest influence on a conference’s RPI rankings. Teams also benefit in their RPI ranking if they play in a league with a strong conference RPI because during the conference season they have an increased opportunity to play against teams with winning records and high RPI rankings. Below are the non-conference records for each NCAA Division I-II conference against other NCAA members this season.
| Conference | Record | Winning Pct. |
| 1. Big West | 65-16 | .802 |
| 2. MIVA | 46-28 | .622 |
| 3. MPSF | 56-35 | .615 |
| 4. NEC | 30-29 | .508 |
| 5. EIVA | 25-29 | .463 |
| 6. Independents | 39-53 | .424 |
| 7. ECC | 11-31 | .262 |
| 8. ConfCarolinas | 13-43 | .232 |
| 9. SIAC | 4-25 | .160 |
Strength of schedule
Strength of schedule is one of the criteria categories the selection committee uses to determine the NCAA Tournament field. In addition, a team’s strength of schedule is part of the formula used to determine the RPI rankings. Below are the teams projected to have the best strength of schedule at the end of the season. The projections are based on match results so far this season.
Projected end of season strength of schedule (as of Feb. 27)
1. UC Irvine
2. UC Santa Barbara
3. Stanford
4. CSUN
5. Hawai’i
6. UC San Diego
7. UCLA
8. Pepperdine
9. Grand Canyon
10. Long Beach State
11. BYU
12. Lindenwood
13. Ohio State
14. Princeton
15. McKendree
KPI rankings
The NCAA men’s volleyball committee for the second consecutive year will use the KPI as a selection criteria category. The KPI is a ranking system that evaluates every match result on a scale with the best positive result receiving about a 1.0 score and the worst possible result garnering about a negative-1.0 score. Among the variables used to determine a match result score includes opponent’s winning percentage, opponent strength of schedule, point differential, match location.
The KPI first ranking of the season has yet to be released as more data continues to be collected with each match result.
Big bracketology matches this weekend
Below are the matches to watch this weekend that could have big implications on the bracketology at the end of the season.
| Match | Start time | Bracketology significance |
| UC Irvine at Hawai’i | 7 p.m. Friday and 5 p.m. Saturday | This series hits every major selection criteria category including head-to-head and record against teams under NCAA Tournament consideration. If either team can sweep the series, it will have a significant edge on Selection Sunday. |
| UCLA at UC Santa Barbara | 7 p.m. Friday | UCLA remains in strong position for a possible NCAA Tournament berth. A win against UC Santa Barbara would have the additional bonus of helping narrow the gap between the MPSF and Big West in the Conference RPI |
| Long Island vs. George Mason | 4 p.m. Saturday at Saint Francis | There is a path for Long Island if it wins the NEC to be seeded ahead of the EIVA champion in the NCAA Tournament. However, that path likely means Long Island needs to beat both its matches this weekend against EIVA opponents Charleston and George Mason. |