Sunday, September 10, 2017

GNAC Volleyball With Another Strong 'Showcase' Showing

We won't know until Nov. 20 -- the day the NCAA regional brackets are revealed -- exactly how important this past weekend's D2 West Region Volleyball Showcase will end up being to any team's postseason prospects, but we can certainly say there were encouraging signs for the GNAC across the three-day, six-site, 76-match extravaganza.

For example:
  • The GNAC finished with the best winning percentage of the three conferences, going 27-17 (.614) across all six pods. The PacWest was 28-28 (.500), the CCAA was 21-31 (.404).  
  • Factoring in only the top five pods, in which number of teams and matches were equitable for all three conferences, the GNAC still had the best showing, posting a record of 24-16 (.600). The PacWest finished 22-18 (.550) while the CCAA went 14-26 (.350).
  • The GNAC went 15-5 vs. the CCAA and 12-12 vs. the PacWest.
  • In the top two pods, featuring each conference's top four teams from 2016, the GNAC went 11-5 compared to 7-9 for the PacWest and 6-10 for the CCAA.
  • Among the top three pods, featuring each conference's top six teams from 2016, the GNAC went 15-9 compared to 12-12 for the PacWest and 9-15 for the CCAA.
  • All 11 GNAC teams finished with Showcase records of .500 or better. Northwest Nazarene (4-0), Western Washington (3-1), Seattle Pacific (3-1) and Alaska (3-1) led the way.

GNAC Teams in the Showcase
Team Overall vs. PWC vs. CCAA
Alaska 3-1 3-1 0-0
Alaska Anchorage 2-2 1-1 1-1
Central Washington 2-2 0-2 2-0
Concordia 2-2 1-1 1-1
MSUB 2-2 1-1 1-1
Northwest Nazarene 4-0 2-0 2-0
Saint Martin's 2-2 0-2 2-0
Seattle Pacific 3-1 1-1 2-0
Simon Fraser 2-2 1-1 1-1
Western Oregon 2-2 1-1 1-1
Western Washington 3-1 1-1 2-0
Total 27-17 12-12 15-5
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