BYU ranked No. 1 in new Off the Block Relative Strength Factor

Add another national ranking that BYU is No. 1 for this week.

No. 1 BYU finished atop the season’s first Off the Block Relative Strength Factor rankings that was released Monday.

The Off the Block Relative Strength Factor is a mathematical equation created by Off the Block to give an accurate representation of the best Division I-II men’s volleyball teams in the nation.

The formula uses numerous factors to determine the strength of a team with an emphasis given to the team’s match results and the winning percentage of its opponent entering their match. Other elements also factored in the equation include whether a match was at home or on the road, the amount of travel required to play a match and the overall strength of the opponent’s conference.

The Cougars, which received all but one first-place vote in last week’s national media poll, are on a six match winning streak. BYU (6-1, 4-0 MPSF) during this streak has defeated both No. 3 UC Irvine and No. 6 USC twice.

Lewis (6-2, 0-0 MIVA) finished No. 2 this week in the RSF rankings. The Flyers opened the season 3-2 on West Coast road trip — including a victory against No. 8 Pepperdine — and defeated then-No. 5 Penn State at home.

UC Irvine, USC and Stanford round-out the top five in the RSF rankings.

The RSF will be updated each Monday on the Off the Block website throughout the regular season.

The RSF was created independently of the NCAA and is not one of the criteria the selection committee uses to determine the one at-large team and seeding for the NCAA Tournament. For more on how a team’s RSF is calculated, check out the full RSF formula breakdown.

Off the Block Relative Strength Factor rankings — Jan. 30
1. BYU — 2.907
2. Lewis — 2.775
3. UC Irvine — 2.608
4. USC — 2.291
5. Stanford — 2.239
6. UCLA — 2.175
7. Penn State — 1.972
8. George Mason — 1.610
9. Loyola — 1.542
10. Ohio State — 1.482
11. Long Beach State — 1.461
12. Pepperdine — 1.333
13. Pacific — 1.286
14. CS Northridge — 1.263
15. Hawai’i — 1.237
16. Harvard — 1.167
17. Quincy — 1.143
18. UC Santa Barbara — 1.001
19. IPFW — 0.978
20. St. Francis — 0.810
21. King — 0.688
22. Grand Canyon — 0.681
23. Lees-McRae — 0.613
24. UC San Diego — 0.584
25. Ball State — 0.580
26. NJIT — 0.553
26. Lindenwood — 0.417
27. Cal Baptist — 0.252
28. Sacred Heart — 0.103
T-29. Princeton — N/A*
T-29. Rutgers-Newark — N/A*
T-29. Mount Olive — N/A*
T-29. Limestone — N/A*
T-29. Pfeiffer — N/A*
T-29. Barton — N/A*
*Team yet to play enough matches to establish a valid RSF ranking