USA Volleyball’s Indoor National Ranking System is the official ranking system for USA Volleyball and is based on results from USA Volleyball-sanctioned events. Uses for the ranking system include:
• Help tournament directors seed events; and
• Easily see and track where you stand against USA Volleyball teams across the country.
This is Phase 1 for the USA Volleyball National Ranking System. As with any new system, we will go through some inevitable tweaks based on feedback that we receive and observe. A goal for future uses of the ranking system is a tool that could include selecting at-large teams for USA Volleyball national championship events.
The USA Volleyball National Ranking System uses a multitude of algorithms to objectively rank teams. Results from USA Volleyball-sanctioned events are uploaded from various event management systems and tournament directors running USA Volleyball-sanctioned events. For results to be included, the USA Volleyball team code is required.
USA Volleyball Ranking Homepage
- Boys 12 and under
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- Boys 14 and under
- Boys 15 and under
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- Boys 17 and under
- Boys 18 and under
National Ranking System FAQ
Our ranking system uses an aggregation of several statistically robust methods to calculate ratings for each team based on match results from USA Volleyball-sanctioned events.
Each rating method relies only on head-to-head match results and the relative strength of teams competing against each other. By tracking results across the entire season and emphasizing quality wins over highly ranked opponents, the methods produce a robust ranking that showcases the top teams across the country.
The ratings are recalculated weekly during the season as new data comes in, so the rankings stay current and reflect how teams are performing right now. You can feel confident that the science and statistics behind the rankings make them a reliable measure of competitiveness.
We understand it can feel discouraging when a notable win does not boost your child’s team’s ranking position.
However, our system does not overreact to any solitary match outcome. A single upset victory alone is unlikely to dramatically alter the rankings. The higher ranked team achieved its position by compiling consistent wins over time. For your child’s team to move up in the rankings, it needs to string together multiple wins against quality opponents week after week, demonstrating the victory wasn’t an isolated occurrence. As the team accumulates consistency, its rating will rise to reflect true skill level. Please be patient and keep celebrating those signature wins when they happen.
Only matches from USA Volleyball-sanctioned events are factored into the national rankings.
Club teams must participate in USA Volleyball tournaments for their results to be incorporated. This ensures the rankings offer a fair nationwide comparison of teams competing under the same system.
Outcomes from non-USA Volleyball sanctioned tournaments, scrimmages or league play do not get calculated into the rankings.
The rankings are recalculated every Tuesday morning during the club season based on results from the preceding weekend.
The updated rankings are then published online by Tuesday afternoon. This weekly process continues throughout the season to keep the rankings current.
If a team does not appear in the published rankings, it simply indicates there was insufficient data for the system to rank it that particular week.
This can occur early in the season before a team has competed in enough matches. As soon as the team plays in a USA Volleyball event, its results will feed into the system and it will begin earning a ranking the following week.
It’s likely that the event results were not uploaded in time for them to be included in the most recent USA Volleyball National Ranking System.
You will need to wait until the next rankings update for the results to be included in your ranking record.
The most effective way to ascend the rankings is to consistently defeat opponents ranked ahead of you. The system rewards victories over highly rated competition.
Avoid scheduling matches against weaker teams, as lopsided wins will not significantly improve the rating.
Instead, focus on competing against the strongest possible opponents, even if it results in some losses against top teams. In time, earning wins against higher caliber teams will boost your rating and ranking.
During the initial weeks, the ranking systems have limited data from which to make calculations. Most teams will have played only once or twice.
So, early rankings can fluctuate more as the systems strongly weigh one or two outcomes. As the season progresses and teams accrue more results, the rankings stabilize and become more precise.
Allow approximately one month for enough match data to properly assess team strengths. Late-season rankings will provide the most accurate assessment of top teams after compiling the full body of work.
All USA Volleyball-sanctioned matches are valued equally in ranking computations, whether from national tournaments, regional tournaments, local tournaments, or other USA Volleyball-sanctioned play. No single competition format is weighted more heavily. The priority is participating in sanctioned events as often as possible against the highest caliber competition available.
At the start of a new season, the ranking systems have a limited number of match results to base calculations on. Most teams will have only played one or two matches in the opening weeks. This small data sample means the rankings can fluctuate more wildly early on as the systems strongly react to one or two results.
As the season progresses and teams play more matches, the rankings become more stable and reliable. By mid-season, the accumulated match data allows the systems to accurately assess team strengths. The more results that are fed into the algorithms, the more precise the rankings become.
Therefore, take the very early-season rankings as a preliminary estimate based on minimal information. Allow approximately one month for teams to accumulate sufficient match data to stabilize the rankings. After that point, the systems have enough information to separate top contenders from lower ranked teams. The late-season rankings will provide the most accurate assessment of the highest performing teams.
Scheduling less competitive matches early in the season is not recommended.
Given the limited data samples, the ranking systems cannot yet properly distinguish between strong and weak opponents. Scheduling such matches may artificially boost your early rating, but hurt you later on. Once you start facing quality opponents, your inflated rating will cause you to lose more points than you would have otherwise.
The optimal approach is to challenge your team from the start. Seek out respectable opponents and do not shy away from potential defeats. This provides the system with an immediate performance benchmark to accurately rate your team against. Competitive early season matches will provide long-term ranking gains.
We do not selectively omit individual results from the ranking calculations, as doing so would undermine the integrity of the system. The ranking algorithms inherently account for anomalous match outcomes over time. As the team earns more quality wins, an isolated negative result will become less impactful on its rating.
Rosters naturally fluctuate, especially early in the season. As long as the core of the team remains intact, roster changes will not invalidate or alter a rating.
The ranking reflects the team’s overall performance, not that of individual players. New players quickly become part of the team’s record used in calculations.
The rankings calculations run from the first USA Volleyball event of the season (usually in January) through the conclusion of the respective USAV Girls and Boys Junior National Championships in late June/early July. This captures the full club season results. Teams earn their final ranking at season’s end.
No, our system does not factor in margin of victory – only win/loss results are used. This is intentional to avoid incentivizing teams to run up the score or coaches compromising playing time once a match is in hand. All that matters is winning, not how much you win by. Close matches, comebacks and upsets all provide great data for the rankings.
The concluding rankings are published immediately after the USA Volleyball Girls and Boys Junior National Championships in late June/early July. This capstone event marks the end of club season and offers teams a final opportunity to impact their ratings. The rankings published afterward reflect teams’ total performance throughout the entirety of the competitive season.
Questions concerning the USA Volleyball National Rankings can be sent to usavrankings@usav.org.