On Oct. 24, the American Volleyball Coaches Association released the AVCA Division II weekly coaches’ poll where the Wildcat volleyball team had sat No. 1 for four weeks, only to find themselves ranked No. 3.  

After suffering their first loss to #5 Southwest Minnesota State University on Oct. 22 the Wildcats found themselves behind No. 2 ranked Concordia- St. Paul and No.1 ranked MSU Denver. 

Prior to the Oct. 24 ranking, the Wildcat Volleyball team had a 2-0 record against the CSP Golden Bears, but not a close 2-3 set win; the Wildcats had two sweeps against the Golden Bears, not allowing them to win one set. Pushing through that loss the Wildcats returned home to play three more matches, gaining three more wins and winning 9/11 total sets. 

On Oct. 31, the AVCA released the latest coaches’ poll, Wayne State had received rank No. 2, behind MSU Denver and pushing CSP to the No.3 spot. The CSP Golden Bears received a lower rank after losing a game to University of Sioux Falls, an opponent which the Wildcats had beaten 3-1 in the previous week.  

While the Wildcats sit at No.2 in a coach’s pole, the team sits on top of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference volleyball standing with a 27-1 overall record and a 17-1 conference record. The NSIC is home to five of the top ten volleyball teams in division II. The Wildcats have an overall record of 4-1 against those 4 conference teams. 

The coach’s poll is an opinionated place where coaches think the teams should be, the Wildcats should have never left the No.1 spot. Using this week’s current rankings, the MSU-Denver Roadrunners (23-1) have a 4-0 record against the nationally ranked teams in the RMAC, teams that have not been ranked any higher than #17.  

For comparison, the Wildcats (27-1) have won 4 games against teams ranked within the top 10 in DII. Two of those wins come from the CSP Golden Bears, a team that beat the Roadrunners in the Colorado Premier challenge, not to mention the Wildcats being the victors of the tournament.  

Each game is different, it is easy to point out who has won against who, but that is not always the full story. However, with the Wildcats having played four or more games than any team in the top ten and having a tougher schedule than half of the teams ranked in the top 10, so was it fair to drop the Wildcats from the No.1 position?