2001 Schedule/Results
2001 Statistics
Huskies attain highest ranking ever
Head Coach Ken Nichols commented, "the RPI’s are what they are - just a ranking. There have been some years that I was equally surprised at how low the number turned out for the team I was coaching. But this is great news and the athletes deserve the recognition."
To put these numbers into perspective, consider two other highly successful women’s programs at Northeastern that have ranking systems. Women’s ice hockey completed an outstanding season ranked sixth out of 29 NCAA teams placing them in the 21st percentile. The field hockey team also finished well, ranked 19th out of the 77 NCAA teams, putting them in the 25th percentile. Women’s volleyball, at a ranking of 83 out of 312, has moved into the 27th percentile, ranking them among the Husky elite.
"It’s interesting to spin the numbers that way", Nichols said, "but the reality is our goals are to continue this kind of progress. It gets exponentially more difficult as you move further up, with so many very strong and entrenched teams. One thing in certain, it’s not likely that we will jump another 76 spots this coming season, but moving a little further up the RPI’s looks very likely."
After winning the America East Championships and earning a berth to the NCAA tournament, the Huskies completed this season with an RPI of 83. Like NCAA basketball, women’s volleyball is ranked according to the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Dating back to the 1996 season the Huskies ranked a mere 215. The following season they improved to 199. In 1998, 1999 and 2000 the team finished at 145, 136 and 159 respectively. With 312 NCAA Division I women’s volleyball programs and a growing pool of talent nationwide, Northeastern has consistently delivered solid numbers, but this year’s success is unprecedented in the history of the program.
