With the conclusion of the NCAA Division I Volleyball Championship this past weekend, the NCAA now has final statistics and RPI lists for the 2010 season.
The final RPI numbers show UWM was probably two or three wins away from claiming an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament. The Panthers were upset by Valparaiso in the semifinals of the league tournament, finishing the year at 20-9. But even with that loss, Milwaukee finished 59th in the RPI – about 20 spots out of reasonable at-large consideration. UWM’s RPI was in the mid-40’s in 2007, when the Panthers were kept out of the tournament despite 26 wins. In that case, the general thought was they may have been one more win away.
The Panthers had a lot going for them, though, with what was expected to be and turned out to be an incredibly strong non-league schedule. Milwaukee wound up 5-6 against teams in the top 100, with wins over #23 Tulsa, #58 Saint Louis, #96 Butler (2) and #100 Toledo. If there were two contests the Panthers would love to have back, it would be the five-set losses to North Dakota State (#87) and North Dakota (#89) in early September. Those two victories and a win over Wisconsin (#69) just might have been enough to put the Panthers over the top, especially if you throw in two wins over Valpo (#101) and two wins over Cleveland State (#102).
It’s all speculation, of course, but it’s also easy to forget what a high level the Panthers played at in 2010.
Meanwhile, in the final statistics, UWM wound up 14th nationally in blocks, averaging 2.71 per set. The Panthers were also 27th nationally in digs, averaging 17.20 per frame.
Individually, Natalie Schmitting was 57th in blocks (1.16 per set) while Rachel Neuberger was 97th (1.08). Morgan Potter was 78th in digs (4.67).
Now that these final numbers are in, I’ll have a full season in review posted on the main site in the next couple of days.
