Utah 2006 questions

[bownlovingfreak]

Now I love Utah. I loved their team this past season. I have been thinking...How on earth did they get a #9 ranking? Sure they swept their conference (except the actual championship match), including BYU a ranked opponent. But they didn't beat any other big teams...did they? Why wasn't Cal Poly that high? They went through their conference almost flawlessly and played huge teams, bringing many to 4 or 5 game matches. Is it because there wasn't a BYU caliber squad in the Big West?

Also how did Utah get two All Americans? I love Whitney Webb. I think she's great, but it really through me for a loop seeing her get the award. Especially considering Atherstone, Cole, Vander Kooi, Goodman and Romero seemed likely candidates.

Sorry if this sounds a bit hectic, Im in India...and thinking a lot about volleyball!

[roy]

The ranking came from a bunch of upsets. They lost to Florida and USC in the preseason which are not bad loses. Teams like Hawaii and Florida fell in their rankings due to injuries. Tennessee and Santa Clara were ranked highly from a good 2005 season but couldn't hold their preseason ranking.

Cal Poly may have had better wins, but they also have a mid season loss to UC Irvine, which pushed them down in the ranking. Within the AVCA poll, consistency is rewarded. While they don't have significant wins, they didn't lose to anyone they were not supposed to lose to, so every week after an upset or two, they get more points and keep moving up.