Over the course of a season what is the percentage of points won, sets won, and matches won by a college volleyball team? More importantly, what is the value of two points per set?
The report Team Tendencies and the Importance of Winning a Point takes an in-depth look at those percentages for the University of Colorado Women’s Volleyball team for the nine-year period from 2006 to 2014.
The Lady Buffs won between 42.8% and 50.0% of the points. The range from low to high is 7.2 percentage points. In other words, there are subtle differences between being a winner and a loser.
In 2009 the Lady Buffs won 42.8% of the points.
At the other end of the spectrum they won 49.5% of the points in 2006 and they won 50.0% of the points in 2014. Both years they qualified for NCAA nationals and won their first match at the Big Dance.
The range of 7.2 percentage points for points won (50.0%-42.8%) is magnified to a range of 38.6 percentage points for sets won (53.1% – 14.5%). In turn there is a range of 55.5 percentage points (60.0% – 4.5%) for matches won.
During the 2009 season the Lady Buffs won:
• 42.8% of the points
• 16.7% of the sets
• 10.0% of the matches.
The Lady Buffs won two of twenty matches. As can be seen, when less than half of the points are won, there is an increased reduction in the percentage of sets and matches won.
During the 2014 season the Lady Buffs won:
• 50.0% of the points
• 50.0% of the sets
• 55.0% of the matches.
The Lady Buffs won eleven of twenty matches. As can be expected when half the points are won there is minimal magnification of sets and matches won.
During a conference season the Lady Buffs play 20 matches. This is about 3,000 points and 75 sets.
If the Lady Buffs win 50.0% of the points, as they did in 2014, they would win 1,500 points. If they win 44.5% of the points, as they did in 2009, they would win 1,335 points during the season.
The difference is 165 points.
If those points are spread evenly over 20 matches, the average difference is 8.25 points per match. If 165 points are spread over 80 sets that means the average difference is 2.1 points per set. If you look at it from that perspective the difference between being the worst in the conference and qualifying for the NCAA championships is about eight points per match or two points per set.
The Bottom Line: As a coach or a player how can you find a way to win at least two points per set?
