Tag: CU Lady Buffs

Lady Buffs Volleyball Wins and Attendance Peaked in 2014

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The CU Lady Buffs volleyball team peaked in 2014.

There was a small group of players who raised their level of play in 2015. Unfortunately, their efforts were not enough to carry the Lady Buffs volleyball team to the NCAAs. To add insult to injury, the average size of the crowds in 2015 was less than during the previous season.

CU Lady Buffs Volleyball
Setter Nicole Edelman led the CU Lady Buffs Volleyball team to two NCAA tournaments during her career.

The University of Colorado became a member of the PAC-12 Conference in 2010 and began competition in 2011. During their first two seasons the Lady Buffs volleyball team was the doormat for the league; however they won slightly more than half their conference matches for the 2013 – 2015 seasons.

The Lady Buffs won only 1 of 22 conference matches in their first season. On a positive note, they won their only conference match at home. Since the first year, there has been steady improvement on the court and in the stands. The Lady Buffs were:
• 1-21 in 2011.
• 4-16 in 2012.
• 9-11 in 2013.
• 11-9 in 2014.
• 11-9 in 2015.
In five PAC-12 seasons they have had three losing conference seasons and were selected for two NCAA appearances. They won 36 conference matches and lost 66. The Lady Buffs reach a plateau in 2014.

Their home court conference record also got better. The Lady Buffs were:
• 1-10 in 2011.
• 4-6 in 2012.
• 7-3 in 2013.
• 6-4 in 2014.
• 7-3 in 2015.
The Lady Buffs have won 25 home matches and lost 26 in five seasons. On the road they were 11-40.

Finally, their average attendance at conference home games showed steady gains until 2015. Attendance at the Lady Buff home matches was:
• 814 in 2011.
• 1,226 in 2012.
• 1,169 in 2013.
• 1,452 in 2014.
• 1,395 in 2015.
With the exception of the Oregon match, more than 1,000 players were in attendance at all home matches. Unfortunately there were no matches where the Buffs had more than 2,000 fans in attendance.

Lady Buffs Volleyball Home Conference Attendance 2015

Date Opponent Score Attendance
9-Oct USC 2-3 1,899
11-Oct UCLA 0-3 1,972
16-Oct California 3-1 1,432
18-Oct Stanford 3-1 1,809
30-Oct Oregon State 3-2 1,116
31-Oct Oregon 2-3 948
12-Nov Arizona State 3-2 1,672
14-Nov Arizona 3-0 1,029
25-Nov Washington State 3-2 1,055
27-Nov Utah 3-1 1,021

Best wishes to Coach Mahoney and the Lady Buffs volleyball program for a productive offseason and for continued improvement in 2016. The program deserves better support than it has seen in the past.

Percentage of Points Won – Two Points Per Set

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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?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?

two points per set - percentage of points, sets, and matces won