Rainbow Wahine upset loss reflected in volleyball poll, RPI

ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER
Hawaii’s Rika Okino went low for a dig during the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team’s win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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ANDREW LEE / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

Hawaii’s Rika Okino went low for a dig during the Rainbow Wahine volleyball team’s win over Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at the Stan Sheriff Center.

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One loss does not a season make. However, the residual effects from Friday’s upset loss to UC Irvine did carry over negatively into Monday for the Hawaii women’s volleyball team.

The Rainbow Wahine not only dropped eight spots to No. 19 in the national poll but they opened much lower than anticipated in the first Ratings Percentage Index of the season. Hawaii (13-2, 3-1 Big West) was at No. 14 in the RPI, the computer-generated strength-of-schedule system used by the NCAA selection committee for postseason seeding and hosting duties.

Teams at 16 or better in the RPI at the end of the regular season usually have been awarded one of 16 subregionals, hosting the first and second rounds of the NCAA tournament. The Wahine had been projected to have an RPI between 3 and 6 prior to the five-set loss to UCI; the Anteaters opened with an RPI of 202 out of 335 teams.

The RPI formula uses a team’s winning percentage (25%), its opponents’ winning percentage (50%) and the winning percentage of those opponents’ opponents (25%). Come tournament selection time, the adjusted RPI awards bonus points for quality wins over Top 25 RPI teams and assesses penalties for poor losses.

Of the 15 teams Hawaii has played this season, four have an RPI in the top 15: Baylor (1), Washington (4), Missouri (10) and UCLA (15). The Wahine beat all except Baylor.

Last season, Hawaii opened at 100 in the RPI and was at 46 at the end of the regular season. The Wahine have not hosted an NCAA subregional since 2013, losing to BYU in the second round.

Baylor (13-0), the lone unbeaten in Division I, also topped Monday’s American Volleyball Coaches Association Top 25. The Bears received 60 of the 64 first-place votes to remain at No. 1 for the second consecutive week.

Defending national champion Stanford (9-3, three votes) moved up a spot to No. 2 and Pitt (15-1, one vote) up one place to No. 3. Washington (11-3), which Hawaii defeated in its season-opening tournament, dropped three spots to No. 11, and Missouri (10-3), which lost to the Wahine at last month’s Baylor Invitational, stayed at No. 22.

Hawaii is the only Big West team ranked, however, UC Santa Barbara received enough votes to put the Gauchos outside the Top 25 at 28th.

The Wahine resume conference play on the road with matches at league leaders Cal Poly (12-5, 5-0 BWC) on Friday and UCSB (15-1, 5-0) on Saturday. The Mustangs opened with a 50 RPI and the Gauchos 35.

The RPIs for the rest of the Big West teams were: UC Davis 118, Cal State Northridge 168, Long Beach State 178, Cal State Fullerton 182 and UC Riverside 241.