Strength of schedule matters when ranking teams

So your favorite volleyball team has 18 wins and you're wondering why it isn't ranked.

So you've got veins sticking out of your neck when you see a Top 10 team with a 9-6 record.

You want to send me an e-mail? I'll be glad to respond. You want to call and argue with me about it? Just keep it civil. I respond well to civil.

Or, you can just read on. We'll deal with it here.

Rankings, at least in my world, are as much about strength of schedule as they are results.

I'll take a Marist volleyball team that's 9-6, but with all six losses against ranked teams, over an 18-win squad that hasn't beaten or played a ranked team.

So what's so important about strength of schedule? Take a look at the final rankings, and which teams have gone the furthest.

The ultimate example of how much strength of schedule matters is Providence Catholic's football team.

For years and years, the Celtics beat up Class 1A and 2A teams 60-0 on a weekly basis as a member of the Private School League. Until 1987, all it got them was a first or second-round spanking when they played bigger schools in the Class 3A or 4A playoffs.

Then, in 1987, Providence waved goodbye to the PSL. Matt Senffner aggressively built a strong independent schedule. The scores were a lot closer, and the Celtics even lost occasionally, but the biggest difference was the postseason results.

From 1987 through 2004, the Celtics missed the state playoffs just once and captured nine state titles. Coincidence? I think not.

A great example in volleyball has been Lemont.

The Indians - or Injuns, as they were known then - had for a string of years one of the best regular-season records among area teams. But they were always a mystery to me.

For one thing, they were in that Suburban Prairie Conference bunch and played teams such as Batavia and Kaneland and other far-away schools in matches that didn't have much appeal for me to cover. And among their nonconference foes, it was a rarity to find a traditionally ranked area opponent on the schedule.

The Injuns weren't in any of the big area tournaments like the Nike Challenge, the Rich East Invitational or even the Nike Preview. When I'd ask why, I'd be told that they wanted to get in, but there wasn't any room for them.

If I ranked them, it was near the bottom of the Top 10. I knew, ultimately, that they'd run into a Mount Assisi and get squashed in a Class AA regional.

When Chris Zogata came to Lemont as coach in 2001, she vowed to change a few things.

"I completely agree about the strength of schedule," she said. "When I came here, I knew they had great records, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs. I was like, 'You don't have a great program if you get into the playoffs and get beat in the first round every time.'

"I said, 'If they want to back up that 30-1, they they need to start winning in the playoffs. The only way to do that is to take our lumps and play in some good tournaments.' "

Zogata went to work, and over the next few seasons got the Indians into the Glenbard East and Rich East invites. Lemont also joined the South Suburban Conference, and played league matches against solid programs, such as Oak Forest and Evergreen Park.

Postseason regional titles became an afterthought. In 2007, they beat a good Evergreen Park squad to advance to a Class 3A Sectional final for the first time, and gave Joliet Catholic Academy all it could handle in the final before losing 25-19, 25-20. Saturday, Lemont gave Mother McAuley a good battle and finished second in the Rich East Invitational.

Today, they're 14-1 and ranked second. And, boy, do they deserve it.

Tony Baranek can be reached at tbaranek@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5947.