At the start of the season, volleyball was projected to be one of the lower teams in the RMAC, so low in fact that they were not projected to be in the conference tournament.
UCCS got bumped up in the early season though, setting them up for a high ranking — in theory. Right now, UCCS sits atop the RMAC in what has been one of the most surprising stories of the season.
Volleyball receiving national votes was a thought not even a superfan would have conjured up at the beginning, but a few months later the Mountain Lions received five votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association polls.
Although it’s not enough, those keeping up with volleyball know that UCCS has been outright dominant through long stretches of games. Their dominance has gone unrecognized for too long, and it’s time this Cinderella story gets the respect that it deserves.
The Schedule so far
Volleyball began their 2025 campaign with 11 straight wins, eight of which were 3-0 shutouts.
It took a tough away game against CSU Pueblo to give the Mountain Lions their first loss of the season, barely letting the game slip 3-2.
Their only other loss has come against the nationally 12th-ranked MSU Denver, where they suffered a 3-0 defeat.
A few weeks later, UCCS would avenge their first loss of the season with a 3-0 showing against CSU Pueblo.
Not Strong Enough?
One of the biggest hurdles for the Mountain Lions is their strength of schedule, or lack thereof.
Comparing them to teams that are nationally ranked, the Mountain Lions have not had a signature win against a ranked opponent, with them losing their only opportunity against MSU Denver.
To that I say, what are they supposed to do? At the end of the day, the Mountain Lions will play whoever is in front of them.
They don’t have control over other team’s RMAC performances and who gets nationally ranked.
For the argument that UCCS has only beaten the “easy” competition in the RMAC, it’s important to know that there is no such thing as a free win in sports.
Those who don’t respect their opponent are doomed to be humbled when they find out that there isn’t an opponent who will lay down and die on the court. Regardless of record, every team is going to put up a fight.
It all goes back to the old proverb “hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work hard.” UCCS mowing through most of their schedule shows that they not only have the talent, but that talent is hard at work every game.
MSU Denver as a scale
MSU Denver is the only team in the RMAC to be nationally ranked, being at the 12 spot. I don’t believe UCCS is over 13 spots below them.
Looking at their head-to-head matchup, the Mountain Lions had an ugly 3-0 loss. While that loss justifies not placing UCCS above them, it doesn’t justify plummeting their stock way below them.
One of MSU Denver’s losses was against Wayne State, the sixth team nationally, so not much to be said there, but what about their other losses?
Getting into conference play, MSU Denver lost 3-1 to Colorado Mesa and lost 3-0 to Colorado School of Mines.
UCCS beat both teams with a 3-2 win against Colorado Mesa and a sweep against Colorado School of Mines.
Those wins show that UCCS can hang with the elites of the conference and isn’t a team that has had an easy schedule. Still, the national rankings have the Mountain Lions outside of the top 25 while MSU Denver sits at 12.
Statistical Dominance
When looking at the RMAC stats, the Mountain Lions are top three in points, opponent hitting percentage, hitting percentage, assists, opponent kills, kills, opponent blocks, opponent service aces, service aces and opponent digs.
Dominance in these statistics helped the Mountain Lions lead the RMAC and be in a position to potentially host the RMAC tournament.
It’s important to note that MSU Denver leads in a good number of these statistics. I don’t believe there is enough justification yet to rank UCCS above MSU Denver, but if they’re right behind them on the stat sheet, why are they not right behind them in the rankings?
The NSIC problem
There are currently seven teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) that are ranked in the top 25.
A total of 16 teams make up the conference, meaning with seven of them ranked, teams are bound to get multiple ranked matchups in a season
While there is no denying that the conference is filled with talent, it’s created a problem where the teams feed off each other’s hype, ensuring they stay ranked.
What I mean by that is, when a team wins a ranked conference game, it’s seen as a big deal and skyrockets the votes they get for the top 25. When a team loses a ranked conference game, the consequences are less drastic, and the loss is justified because the other team was just so talented.
This system of over-exaggerating wins and mitigating losses creates a problem where teams from this conference only seem to move up, which is how teams like Southwest Minnesota State and Northern State sit inside the top 25 with 15-6 and 17-5 records respectively while UCCS is trying to claw its way in while only having two losses.
The Great Advance
UCCS faces Fort Lewis and Colorado School of Mines in the RMAC Power Pod in the next two games and both of these teams are in the top four of the RMAC standings, meaning these games will be crucial in painting the postseason picture.
If UCCS can win both of these games, their chances of topping the RMAC would seem more likely, as only MSU Denver would be a threat at that point.
Not only that, but two wins against two quality conference opponents could mean a ranking inside the top 25 for the Mountain Lions.
The team is already receiving votes, and these two wins might just be enough to push the team over the edge.
Watch the RMAC Power Pod on Oct. 30 and Oct. 31 through the RMAC Network and follow along the rest of the regular season as the Mountain Lions look to finish their underdog story.
Photo from Scribe Archives