SE Illinois News

After a tough regular season, the Southern Illinois women's volleyball team will have a brutal conference tournament to look forward to.

A conference used to having multiple NCAA Tournament-caliber teams is living up to its reputation this season. According to mvc-sports.com, a recent NCAA Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) report -- which measures strength of schedule and how successful a team is against it – showed four MVC teams ranked among the top 65 in Division I – Wichita State at No. 32, Southern Illinois at No. 52, Northern Iowa at No. 57 and Missouri State at No. 63. Only three conferences – the Big Ten, the Pac-12 and the Big 12 – had more teams in the top 65.

RPI is a key component of how teams are selected for the NCAA Tournament.

SIU Head Coach Justin Ingram told Southeast Illinois News that the league does a good job of getting the right teams for league programs to play to achieve solid RPI marks.

“I think last year and this year, and I would even go as far as to say next year, the Missouri Valley is doing some great things, and not just in the scheduling, but beating teams that perhaps are power-5 or high mid-major kind of teams that are winning a ton of games,” Ingram said. “So we're collectively doing a good job together.”

Last season, the MVC had five teams ranked in the top 80 in RPI, with four teams clinching NCAA Tournament berths. Southern Illinois was one of those teams, as the Salukis made the tourney for the first time. This season, the Salukis, who were picked to finish third in the league's preseason poll, were locked in a battle for the top spot throughout the first half. At one point, SIU was on top of the league's standings. As of Oct. 20, the Salukis were tied for second with Missouri State, both one game back of Wichita State and one game ahead of Northern Iowa.

Up to that point, the Salukis led the league with 2.29 blocks per set in conference play and were second in hitting percentage at .261.

Ingram said the conference season had gone well through the first half, calling his team multi-dimensional and multi-faceted

“For the most part, our play has been pretty consistent,” Ingram said. “We've had numerous people step up as far as production; different people within different matches have come through for us.”

As the squad looks toward the postseason, Ingram said there's always fine-tuning that needs to be done. Two areas the team wants to concentrate on are the block system and the back-row defense to keep up with the league's elite squads.

“The top of the league is dynamite," Ingram said. "They are far more talented on that side of the ball than we are."

The MVC Tournament is set for Nov. 24-26 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.