MADISON – Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield has not shied away from expressing his dislike of RPI.
“There’s a lot of different metrics out there; our sport uses very little of them,” Sheffield said earlier in the season.
But RPI – as Sheffield fully recognizes – underscores how important Wisconsin’s next two matches are as the 11th-ranked Badgers take on No. 22 Minnesota on Nov. 5 and No. 18 Indiana on Nov. 9 at the UW Field House.
Wisconsin is No. 20 in RPI in the Nov. 3 rankings with eight matches remaining in the 2025 schedule. Indiana and Minnesota are tied for No. 12 in RPI.
“Two teams that are above us in the RPI,” Sheffield said. “And you start getting to this time of year that those types of things start mattering a little bit more.”
While RPI obviously is not the only factor that the NCAA selection committee will use when it announces the postseason bracket on Nov. 30, it does suggest the Badgers have some work to do to earn one of the top 16 overall seeds that are required to host the first two rounds.
UW has hosted the first two rounds in all but two seasons during Sheffield’s tenure. The Badgers had to go to Iowa State in 2017, where they knocked off the Cyclones to advance to the regional semifinals. The other time was in 2020, when the NCAA used only one site due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Obviously a big goal is to be hosting that opening weekend of the tournament,” Sheffield said. “It’s a big deal. It’s a big deal to this community and our fan base. … Coaches are always trying to find a way to spin it anyways, but you really want to be home.”
These two matches are not Wisconsin’s last chance to boost its postseason résumé and increase its chances of hosting. No. 9 Purdue will visit the Field House on Nov. 19, and No. 22 Minnesota will play the Badgers again on Nov. 28 in Minneapolis to conclude the 2025 regular season.
But there is not a massive margin for error for a Badgers team with four losses and only one win against teams currently ranked in the AVCA coaches poll. (Georgia Tech, Florida and UCLA were ranked at the time of Wisconsin’s wins over them, but now they are merely receiving votes.)
None of last year’s top 16 overall teams had more than seven losses. Fortunately for Wisconsin, all four losses so far this year have been to teams that remain ranked, No. 1 Nebraska, No. 4 Texas, No. 17 USC and No. 25 Penn State. Texas and Nebraska are a combined 40-2 so far this season.
At the same time, Wisconsin has not been quite as competitive against top-tier opponents since losing 2024 third-team All-American setter Charlie Fuerbringer to a shoulder injury. (Her timeline to return is unclear.)
The Badgers are 1-3 against AVCA-ranked teams since Fuerbringer’s injury versus 3-1 before that. That record comes with the caveat that the most recent ranked loss – No. 1 Nebraska’s sweep at the UW Field House – would have been daunting, even if Fuerbringer had been healthy.
“We’ve just got to continue to evolve and get better, which I think anybody that’s been watching us can see that,” Sheffield said.
Victories over Minnesota and Indiana would likely stand out on Wisconsin’s postseason résumé as quality wins. The Gophers have lost only once against a team that is not at least receiving votes in the coaches poll and boast a quality win over Indiana.
Then Wisconsin will face what Sheffield described as “maybe the best team that Indiana has ever had.” The Hoosiers are tied with UW for third in the Big Ten with a 9-3 conference record and coming off a sweep over Penn State.
“We’ve got two more opportunities in front of us – really good teams – and then it doesn’t stop there,” Sheffield said. “Probably the back half of our schedule is probably a little bit tougher than our first half. And I think we’ll probably learn a whole lot more about ourselves.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin’s next volleyball matches carry big postseason implications
