Decoding the College Volleyball Bracket: A Comprehensive Guide

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship is the pinnacle of collegiate volleyball in the United States. Each year, 64 teams battle it out in a single-elimination tournament to be crowned national champion. Understanding how the bracket is formed, the selection criteria, and the regional advisory committee process is crucial for fans, coaches, and players alike.

Unveiling the Selection Criteria

The selection of teams for the NCAA Women's Volleyball Championship is a multifaceted process guided by specific criteria outlined in the Pre-Championship Manual. These criteria are used by Regional Advisory Committees (RACs) and the National Selection Committee to evaluate teams and determine the tournament field.

The selection criteria are divided into primary and secondary categories.

Primary Criteria: The Foundation of Selection

The primary criteria form the core of the selection process. While the NCAA doesn't explicitly list these criteria in order of priority, Strength of Schedule (SOS) is generally considered to be of utmost importance. However, the application of these criteria can be complex, and RACs may prioritize different criteria based on their regional context.

The main primary criteria include:

Record: A team's overall win-loss record against Division III opponents is a straightforward measure of success. When comparing two teams, the team with the better record typically gets the advantage, but there is a tolerance used with record for teams that are very close. In other words, a team that is 20-3 will be considered the same as a team that is 19-3.
Head-to-Head: If two teams have played each other, the winner of the match receives an advantage. This criterion is more relevant during regional rankings, as teams from different regions rarely play each other. Multiple wins against the same opponent do not grant additional bonus points. In the event of a split (e.g., 2-1), the team with two wins typically prevails, but the RAC may consider other factors if the teams are closely matched overall.
Common Opponent: This criterion assesses how teams performed against the same opponents. While the manual refers to "results," the selection committees typically use winning percentage to evaluate this criterion.
Ranked Results: This criterion examines a team's performance against regionally ranked opponents. While the wording suggests evaluating "results," the NCAA presents this criterion as a percentage. The RACs are generally numbers-oriented with this criterion. In almost all comparisons, percentage is used when it comes to Ranked Results. “Results” are only considered when this criterion is close.
Strength of Schedule (SOS): The SOS is a crucial factor in the selection process. The NCAA uses a specific formula that considers an opponent's record and the records of their opponents. A tolerance is used when comparing the SOS numbers between teams.

Secondary Criteria: Breaking the Ties

The secondary criteria are used to differentiate between teams that are closely matched based on the primary criteria. These criteria include:

Won-lost percentage during the last 25% of the season
DIII non-conference SOS
Contests versus non-Division III teams

While the coaches indicated that the secondary criteria is used more than one would think, they went on to say that really only Last 25% and DIII non-conference SOS are used.

The Regional Advisory Committee (RAC)

The RACs play a vital role in the selection process. Each RAC comprises a representative from each member conference in the region, serving a three-year term. The RAC Chair, also from one of the conferences, leads the committee and participates in the National Selection Committee.

RAC Process

The RACs evaluate teams within their respective regions based on the selection criteria. They create regional rankings that are submitted to the NCAA Selection Committee for approval. The RACs are pretty numbers oriented with this criterion.

Sanity Check

The NCAA Selection Committee reviews the regional rankings submitted by the RACs. If the committee believes that the process or criteria were not followed correctly, they can return the rankings to the RAC for revision or make changes themselves.

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One of the more controversial topics is the scorecard. There are 5 selection criteria so how do we handle the “winners” of each criterion? The answer is the scorecard where you basically check off the winner for each criterion and add up how many, out of the five, that a team won.

The National Selection Committee

The National Selection Committee is responsible for the final selection of teams for the NCAA Tournament and the overall bracket construction. The RAC Chairs know what was done in their regional meetings and do discuss it during the national meeting.

National Selection Process

The National Selection Committee considers the regional rankings, selection criteria, and other relevant information to select the remaining at-large teams and create the tournament bracket.

Typically, most comparisons done at the national level involve only Record, SOS and Ranked Results. It’s also very common that Record and SOS cancel each other out leaving only this criterion left for over 75% of the comparisons made at the national level.

NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Tournament Structure

The NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship is a single-elimination tournament featuring 64 teams. The top 32 teams are seeded nationally in pods of four and placed within four regions. The top seeds are provided the opportunity to host the first and second rounds.

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Tournament Rounds

First and Second Rounds: These rounds are held at 16 campus sites. Teams compete in single-elimination matches, with the winners advancing to the regional rounds.
Regional Rounds: The regional rounds are held at four non-predetermined campus sites. Teams compete in single-elimination regional semifinal competition.
National Semifinals and Championship Final: The regional winners advance to the national semifinals and championship final, held at a predetermined site.

Rotation Rules

A rotation occurs after every sideout, which is when the receiving team gains the right to serve by winning a rally. So basically, if you are the receiving team, and you win the point, or the serving team commits an unforced error, the players are required to rotate and the serve is switched. The new serving team will rotate clockwise one spot. The rotation order is determined by the starting lineup and must be maintained throughout the set, per the NCAA rulebook.

To break it down: six players are on the court, three are front-row players and three are back-row players. The positions are named by their place on the court, but these position are not to be confused with the position they play such as setter, middle blocker, outside hitter, opposite or libero. The locations are the positions where you stand before the ball is served. It is left front, middle front, right front, and left back, middle back and right back. Each player must start in one of those specific locations.

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