Subjective rankings say the UAA volleyball team is really good. Objective rankings say the Seawolves are pretty popular.
Though snubbed in the national rankings until this week, the Seawolves were accorded the No. 2 spot in the season's initial West Region rankings, announced by the NCAA on Wednesday.
UAA, which takes a 17-4 record into a pair of road matches this week, has never been ranked higher in the region. The subjective ranking is critical because the region rankings, not the national rankings, will help decide which teams advance to the postseason playoffs.
Besides putting the Seawolves in position to advance to the postseason for the fifth time in coach Chris Green's seven seasons, this year's success has helped put them in the top five of another set of Division II volleyball rankings: Attendance.
UAA ranks fourth in the nation in average attendance and second in accumulative attendance -- lists that are based on objective data.
The Seawolves are drawing an average of 754 fans to the new Alaska Airlines Center. Their total attendance of 8,292, recorded through the team's first 11 home matches, is the second most among the nation's Division II teams.
Boosted by the lure of the new arena, UAA has six times this season drawn crowds that rank among the school's top 10 all-time best volleyball crowds.
The top three turnouts and five of the top six are from this season. Leading the list is a crowd of 1,200 for the season-opening match against Long Island University Post. Last week's showdown between UAA and conference leader Northwest Nazarene drew 1,119, the second biggest crowd in program history.
Though the crowds aren't big enough to fill the 5,000-seat new arena, they are big enough for visiting teams to take notice.
"This is the coolest environment we play in, and we love it," Northwest Nazarene coach Doug English said Saturday after his team swept the Seawolves to move to 19-2. "What they've done with this place and this building, and what Chris has done with this program, that's what all of us in the conference want."
Northwest Nazarene, ranked No. 1 in the region, helped the Great Northwest Athletic Conference dominate the region rankings, the first of three the NCAA will compile this season.
With NNU and UAA leading the way, the GNAC placed four teams in the top five. Third place went to defending region champion BYU-Hawaii (15-4) of the Pac West Conference, and then came two more GNAC teams -- Western Washington (17-4) and Central Washington (15-6). Rounding out the top 10 are Sonoma State (14-5), Cal State-San Bernardino (14-5), Humboldt State (14-5), Dixie State (15-6) and Cal Baptist (13-8).
For the postseason, eight teams will advance to the Nov. 21-22 West Region tournament. Three berths will go to the conference champions from the GNAC, Pac West and the California Collegiate Athletic Conference, and the remaining five will be determined by the region rankings.
UAA has five matches remaining and needs to keep up its winning ways to keep its spot in the rankings.
"We have to take care of business," Green said.
Earlier this week, the Seawolves broke into the AVCA national rankings for the first time this season, grabbing the 25th and final spot.
UAA is one of five West Region teams ranked in the top 25 nationally -- BYU-Hawaii ranks fifth, Western Washington ninth, Northwest Nazarene 15th and San Bernardino 18th. The national poll has no impact on the region poll and sometimes reflects a program's historical success as much as its current success.
UAA's next three matches are on the road, including Thursday's match at Western Oregon and Saturday's match at Saint Martin's. The Seawolves face in-state rival UAF in Fairbanks on Nov. 8 and then return home to wrap up the regular season with matches against Simon Fraser on Nov. 13 and Western Washington on Nov. 15.
Division II attendance leaders
(average)
School Attendance Matches
1) Albany State (Ga.) 1,413 3
2) Minnesota-Duluth 855 7
3) Nebraska-Kearney 773 13
4) UAA 754 11
5) Benedict (S.C.) 733 7
Division II attendance leaders
(accumulative)
School Attendance Matches
1) Nebraska-Kearney 10,044 13
2) UAA 8,292 11
3) Augustana (S.D.) 6,846 12
4) West Texas A&M 6,615 11
5) Tarleton State (Texas) 6,184 10
UAA all-time single-match attendance
Attendance Opponent Date
1) 1,200 LIU Post Sept. 9, 2014
2) 1,119 Northwest Nazarene Oct. 25 2014
3) 1,070 Montana State Billings Sept. 9, 20/14
4) 884 UAF Sept. 29, 2012
5) 881 Western Oregon Oct. 4, 2014
6) 870 Saint Leo Sept. 6, 2014
7) 862 Western Oregon Oct. 20, 2012
8) 821 UAF Oct. 18, 2003
9) 806 UAF Oct. 11, 2014
10) 803 UAF Sept. 22, 2000
Alaska Dispatch Publishing