The NCAA released its official version of the RPI for volleyball after matches on played on Sept. 29, 2025. The Arizona Wildcats debuted at No. 78, giving them even more work to do than they had at this
time last season. Fortunately, they also have significant opportunities due to the strength of the Big 12, and the numbers are already working in their favor.
When the second set of numbers came out today, the Wildcats had already jumped 26 spots. Their win over Utah last week and improvements by previous opponents have them at No. 52 after matches were completed on Oct. 5.
After being left out of the NCAA Tournament last season, Arizona head coach Rita Stubbs upgraded the nonconference schedule this year. She studied the schedules of bubble teams that got in last year to see what kind of teams she needed to play. She added teams that went to last year’s tournament. She even got a date at Nebraska, which is ranked No. 1 by the AVCA and No. 2 in 2025’s first RPI.
The Wildcats went 11-0 in nonconference play last year, but all 11 teams were outside the top 100 and eight of them were outside the top 150. When the first RPI came out on Oct. 2, 2024, UA was 0-2 against the top 25, 1-0 against teams ranked 26-50, and 11-0 against teams outside the top 100. That was good enough to get a ranking of No. 52 when the RPI debuted.
Would it have helped Arizona if Stubbs had scheduled even tougher this season? One interesting case study suggests it might have been even worse. The case study is of a team whose decision to schedule tougher may have hurt itself this year and could have an effect on Arizona.
Kansas had a very aggressive schedule in Matt Ulmer’s first season as head coach. When the RPI dropped on Sept. 29, the Jayhawks had played eight games against the top 100 teams. That included Arizona State and Arizona, so six were nonconference matches. Twelve of the Jayhawks’ 16 matches came against teams in the top 100. They went 10-6 in those matches and ended up ranked No. 41 when the first set of numbers came out.
Kansas is still ranked No. 18 in the AVCA poll, suggesting that the coaches expect them to get into the tournament with relative ease. They also moved up to No. 30 in the second release of RPI, showing the impact that conference play should have on the resume’s of Big 12 teams this season..
Every available metric says the Jayhawks are a better program than Arizona, but a challenging schedule has KU with an 11-7 record. Had Stubbs scheduled the same way Kansas did this year, it’s tough to see the Wildcats sitting above .500.
UA will have to win its battle for the NCAA Tournament in conference play. That’s fairly encouraging as long as the team plays to its potential.
The Big 12 is the No. 3 league according to RPI, and it is already seeing a number of its teams climb significantly after another week of conference play. It has just one team sitting outside the top 85. Five are among the top 25. Arizona will play those five teams seven times this season with five of the seven matches coming in McKale Center.
