Follow
Jonathan Bates | Associate Editor
Editor’s note: Stats compiled are from each school’s websites, and may not match up with the NCAA statistics database.
Death, taxes, and coaches saying the key to winning matches is winning the serve-receive battle. There is a reason why that cliché is as popular as ever – it’s true. Off the Block broke down the stats, and there is a strong correlation between winning the serve-receive battle and overall winning.
As my good friend Brandon Johnson loves to remind me the goal of serving is not to get aces, but to get the other team out of system. Getting aces is a byproduct of serving tough. In other words, while players may not step on the court with the goal of getting aces, there is a correlation between serving tough and getting aces.
In terms of aces per game, there are a couple of outliers in the top ten. D’Youville, having only played six matches, ranks No. 3 nationally with 1.69 aces per game, but their .375 winning percentage ranks No. 29. Saint Francis ranks No. 8 nationally with 1.37 aces per game, but their .296 winning percentage ranks No. 31. Four of the seven NCAA tournament teams rank in the top ten in aces per game – No. 2 Penn State, No. 5 BYU, No. 9 Hawai’i, and No. 10 Lewis.
Of the bottom ten teams in aces per game, seven teams also rank in the bottom ten in winning percentage.
Aces per game
1. Daemen – 2.44
2. Penn State – 2.03
T-3. North Greenville – 1.77
T-3. D’Youville – 1.77
5. BYU – 1.76
6. UCLA – 1.59
7. NJIT – 1.57
8. Saint Francis – 1.50
9. Hawai’i – 1.47
10. Lewis – 1.43
There is less of a correlation between opponents’ aces per game (i.e., getting aced) and winning percentage. Only five of the top ten teams in terms of aces per game yielded rank in the top ten in winning percentage.
Only two of those teams made the NCAA tournament – No. 3 Hawai’i (0.86 opponent aces per game) is No. 2 in winning percentage, while No. 7 Lewis (0.93 opponent aces per game) is No. 3 in winning percentage. Second seeded BYU ranks No. 22 in yielding 1.16 aces per game to their opponents.
Interestingly, Purdue Fort Wayne’s 0.88 opponent aces per game ranks No. 5 nationally, but they finished No. 6 in the MIVA standings and their .400 winning percentage ranks No. 27 in the nation.
Six of the bottom ten in opponent aces per game also rank in the bottom ten in winning percentage. All but one of those teams finished in the bottom two of their conference standings.
Opponent aces per game
1. Ball State – 0.75
2. Mount Olive – 0.80
3. Hawai’I – 0.86
4. Loyola – 0.87
5. Purdue Fort Wayne – 0.88
6. Long Beach State – 0.91
7. Lewis – 0.93
T-8. UCLA -1.00
T-8 King – 1.00
10. Queens – 1.01
In terms of the difference between aces per game minus their opponents’ aces per games, of the top ten teams, eight finished their first or second in their conference standings. Three of the top four teams made the NCAA tournament – No. 2 Penn State, No. 3 Hawai’i, and No.4 BYU. The team with best ace differential was Daemen, the only team to finish the season with an undefeated record.
Of the bottom six teams in ace differential, five teams finished in the bottom seven in winning percentage.
Ace Differential (Aces per game minus opponent aces per game)
1. Daemen – 1.39
2. Penn State – 0.99
3. Hawai’i – 0.61
T-4. BYU – 0.59
T-4 UCLA – 0.59
6. North Greenville – 0.58
7. Long Beach State – 0.51
8. Lewis – 0.50
9. Loyola – 0.44
10. NJIT – 0.43