guides · Updated 2026-10-21

Side-out % vs Point-scoring %

Volleyball is two games stacked on top of each other. When the other team serves, you have to side out and take the serve back. When you serve, you’re trying to score a point with the other team holding the advantage. Win more of both than everybody else and you look a lot like the 2026 Huskers.

Through games Tuesday, October 20, 2026: Nebraska sides out 70.5% of the time (#1 of 343 in D1) and wins 50.8% of its own serves (#1).

Scatter chart: every D1 team's side-out percentage on the x-axis and point-scoring percentage on the y-axis. Nebraska sits alone in the top-right corner at 70.5% and 50.8%. — Top-right = wins rallies both ways. Dashed lines are the D1 average. Chart by Volleyball Directory from ncaa.com play-by-play.

The two numbers, in plain English

Side-out % = rallies you win when the other team serves ÷ rallies where they served. The D1 average is about 57%. Receiving is the easier job, because your team gets the first swing.
Point-scoring % = rallies you win on your own serve ÷ rallies where you served. The D1 average is about 43%. Scoring on serve is the hard part. You have to dig the other team’s first swing and then put the ball away yourself.

Why fans should care

Side-out keeps you alive. A team at 70% almost never hands over a long run. That steadiness is why some teams never look rattled.
Point-scoring wins sets. Two teams that both side out 65% are stuck trading points until someone gets a stop. Every point scored on serve is a stop, and stops are how 25-23 becomes 25-18.
Being elite at both is rare. Most good teams lean one way. When one dot sits alone up and to the right, you’re looking at a really special team.

Top 25: Side-out %

#	Team	Conf	Matches	Side-out %	Point-scoring %
1	Nebraska	Big Ten	19	70.5%	50.8%
2	BYU	Big 12	16	68.5%	45.3%
3	Louisville	ACC	20	67.8%	48.6%
4	Kansas	Big 12	17	66.8%	43.5%
5	Pittsburgh	ACC	18	66.7%	44.6%
6	Kentucky	SEC	18	66.6%	45.5%
7	Tennessee	SEC	17	65.5%	46.7%
8	Florida	SEC	17	65.2%	44.8%
9	Vanderbilt	SEC	17	65.0%	45.1%
10	SMU	ACC	18	64.5%	40.3%
11	Georgia	SEC	17	64.2%	43.9%
12	Hawaii	Mountain West	19	64.1%	47.1%
13	Wisconsin	Big Ten	18	63.9%	40.2%
14	Arizona St.	Big 12	18	63.8%	45.6%
15	East Carolina	American	20	63.8%	43.0%
16	Baylor	Big 12	17	63.7%	39.7%
17	Colorado St.	Pac 12	17	63.3%	46.4%
18	Texas A&M	SEC	19	63.2%	43.0%
19	Georgia Tech	ACC	18	63.0%	47.6%
20	Col. of Charleston	Caa	21	63.0%	47.6%
21	California	ACC	19	63.0%	41.9%
22	Utah Tech	Big Sky	18	62.8%	45.7%
23	Washington	Big Ten	17	62.8%	45.3%
24	North Carolina	ACC	16	62.8%	44.7%
25	Purdue	Big Ten	17	62.7%	43.0%

Top 25: Point-scoring %

#	Team	Conf	Matches	Side-out %	Point-scoring %
1	Nebraska	Big Ten	19	70.5%	50.8%
2	New Hampshire	America East	19	59.5%	48.7%
3	Louisville	ACC	20	67.8%	48.6%
4	Georgia Tech	ACC	18	63.0%	47.6%
5	Col. of Charleston	Caa	21	63.0%	47.6%
6	Illinois St.	Mvc	19	59.1%	47.4%
7	Hawaii	Mountain West	19	64.1%	47.1%
8	San Diego	Wcc	17	57.6%	46.8%
9	Tennessee	SEC	17	65.5%	46.7%
10	Florida A&M	Swac	21	54.8%	46.6%
11	UT Martin	Ovc	19	57.2%	46.6%
12	St. John’s (NY)	Big East	21	58.4%	46.5%
13	Colorado St.	Pac 12	17	63.3%	46.4%
14	Harvard	Ivy League	16	57.3%	46.4%
15	Delaware St.	Meac	21	56.1%	46.3%
16	UNI	Mvc	19	62.6%	46.3%
17	Michigan St.	Big Ten	18	62.4%	46.3%
18	Mercer	Socon	21	57.1%	46.3%
19	Minnesota	Big Ten	16	62.6%	46.2%
20	Coppin St.	Meac	23	57.7%	46.0%
21	LIU	Nec	17	57.7%	46.0%
22	Alabama	SEC	17	57.7%	45.9%
23	High Point	Big South	18	61.1%	45.8%
24	St. Thomas (MN)	Summit League	16	57.9%	45.8%
25	Marquette	Big East	18	60.0%	45.7%

Big Ten (sorted by side-out % + point-scoring %)

#	Team	Conf	Matches	Side-out %	Point-scoring %
1	Nebraska	Big Ten	19	70.5%	50.8%
2	Minnesota	Big Ten	16	62.6%	46.2%
3	Michigan St.	Big Ten	18	62.4%	46.3%
4	Washington	Big Ten	17	62.8%	45.3%
5	Illinois	Big Ten	19	62.6%	43.9%
6	Penn State	Big Ten	18	61.2%	45.3%
7	Purdue	Big Ten	17	62.7%	43.0%
8	Michigan	Big Ten	19	61.1%	43.7%
9	Oregon	Big Ten	18	60.5%	43.7%
10	UCLA	Big Ten	19	62.1%	42.1%
11	Wisconsin	Big Ten	18	63.9%	40.2%
12	Indiana	Big Ten	17	60.2%	43.2%
13	Iowa	Big Ten	22	60.4%	42.1%
14	Maryland	Big Ten	19	59.9%	42.2%
15	Rutgers	Big Ten	20	59.0%	41.5%
16	Ohio St.	Big Ten	18	59.1%	41.2%
17	USC	Big Ten	18	59.1%	39.8%
18	Northwestern	Big Ten	19	57.2%	40.4%

How we computed it

Source: official ncaa.com play-by-play for every D1 women’s match listed on the ncaa.com scoreboard from Aug. 20 through Tuesday, October 20, 2026. That’s 3,321 matches and about 259,863 rallies. Volleyball Directory calculated every number here. None of it is copied from another account.
Who served: the team that wins a rally serves the next one. When a set’s first server isn’t shown, we work it out from a first-rally ace or service error, or from teams alternating first serve in sets 1–4. Rallies we still can’t pin down are left out (9,868 total, about 3.8%). That includes the rally after any gap in the official feed. As a check, 88,842 of 89,477 aces and service errors (99.3%) line up with the server we worked out.
Who’s included: D1 teams with at least 8 matches (343 teams). Rallies against non-D1 opponents count toward the D1 team’s numbers.
Not adjusted for schedule strength. A 70% side-out rate against the Big Ten and the same rate against a lighter schedule show up as the same number.
Updated with the Daily Desk.

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