UH AD Matlin: ‘There is no appeals process’ for volleyball

The morning after was even more baffling when it came to UC Irvine’s selection over Hawaii for the national men’s volleyball tournament.

On Monday, the day after the tournament field was announced, the NCAA released updated numbers that the selection committee was said to have used as guidelines for the two at-large berths and tournament seedings. Among the factors were Ratings Percentage Index (a computer-generated metric that uses overall record, opponents’ record, and home-and-away records) and strength of schedule.

“There is no appeals process,” Hawaii athletic director David Matlin said. “I’ve been in discussions with the (Big West) commissioner (Dennis Farrell) for two days and the only thing is how to make it better going forward.

“One of the most problematic things is having a three-person committee. Men’s volleyball has 42 teams and men’s water polo has 45, but the water polo committee has five on it. What we do, we want it to be effective.”

Legally, a court injunction could be filed, but it didn’t appear to be a viable option. What would be is to expand the committee to avoid the situation that occurred Sunday where two of the three members had a vested interest in the outcome: chair Janine Oman, senior associate athletic director at Ohio State, and UCLA assistant athletic director Ashley Armstrong.

Although the AVCA poll is not a factor, the coaches voted their opinion when putting Hawaii at No. 4 and UC Irvine at No. 5.

UH had the edge over UCI in most categories, including the ones that were said to have counted the most.

The Warriors’ RPI was at 4, behind three of the top four seeds in next week’s event at Pauley Pavilion: Long Beach State (1 RPI/1 seed), Brigham Young (2 RPI/2 seed) and host UCLA, an at-large pick (3 RPI/4 seed). Third-seeded UCI was at 6 in the RPI, below Loyola-Chicago (5), which lost in the MIVA championship to Ohio State (7).

The additional anomaly is that Ohio State was seeded sixth and is hosting Thursday’s play-in match against Conference Carolinas champion King (RPI 13), a seven seed. EIVA champion Harvard (RPI 20) was seeded fifth and will meet UCLA, in the May 1 first round.

In the May 1 second match, UCI will meet the winner of the Ohio State-King match. Long Beach State and BYU have byes into the May 3 semifinals with the champion decided on May 5.

The Big West had the top RPI among the five conferences, with Hawaii’s former conference, the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, second.

In strength of schedule, Hawaii ranked No. 1 and UCI No. 10 as of Monday. The Warriors jumped from 15th in the final two weeks based on wins over previously undefeated Long Beach State and UCI.

In head to head, the Warriors had the edge 2-1 over the Anteaters, including last Friday’s four-set win in the Big West semifinals.

The only category UCI had over Hawaii was in road record, 8-4 vs. 2-4. The Anteaters only flew three times, to tournaments at BYU and Grand Canyon, and for two at Hawaii; their other matches were within a two-hour drive of campus.

UCI, which receives a travel subsidy from UH, also was able to add two additional matches because of the Hawaii exemption.

The Warriors’ travel to Grow the Game counted as neutral-site matches. Hawaii also had one less road conference match that UCI.

Questions have been raised with the committee members, including whether they used the updated RPI compiled after Saturday’s competition was done or if the April 15 RPI was used. Matlin said no definite answers have been received.

Travel costs was not supposed to be a factor in determining the at-large berths. However, once the field is set, travel cost can be used as a consideration.