Where D2 Sections Stand With Max Preps, Strength of Schedule

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're just over two weeks away from seeding meetings.  Max Preps is what every team uses to record scores and stats.  Part of that is being able to see a team's strength of schedule.  How do they get that number?  I have no idea, but the higher the strength of schedule, the more difficult opponent they are playing.  I was able to go through the Top 50 in Max Preps from D2 and list their rank, record, and strength of schedule.  Here is where the teams stand, what they need to do to move up in the next couple of weeks, and who could have a case to jump up a few places based on who they have played and defeated. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>****THIS IS MAX PREPS RANK PRIOR TO MATCHES ON 10/1</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 1A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Osceola</td><td>10</td><td>14-7</td><td>10.6</td></tr><tr><td>St. Croix Falls</td><td>16</td><td>13-6</td><td>8</td></tr><tr><td>Rice Lake</td><td>22</td><td>14-6</td><td>5.9</td></tr><tr><td>St. Croix Central</td><td>26</td><td>13-7</td><td>7.5</td></tr><tr><td>Altoona</td><td>31</td><td>12-10</td><td>8.4</td></tr><tr><td>Medford</td><td>33</td><td>12-8</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Baldwin-Woodville</td><td>40</td><td>17-11</td><td>2.2</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 1B</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Oconto Falls</td><td>8</td><td>17-5</td><td>8.4</td></tr><tr><td>Waupaca</td><td>12</td><td>18-5</td><td>5.5</td></tr><tr><td>Winneconne</td><td>14</td><td>21-4</td><td>3.1</td></tr><tr><td>Shawano</td><td>15</td><td>19-5</td><td>4.3</td></tr><tr><td>Mosinee</td><td>18</td><td>17-8</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>Antigo</td><td>32</td><td>17-8</td><td>3.5</td></tr><tr><td>Lakeland</td><td>35</td><td>8-6</td><td>5.9</td></tr><tr><td>Merrill</td><td>39</td><td>11-14</td><td>8.2</td></tr><tr><td>Seymour</td><td>47</td><td>11-12</td><td>3.9</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This section covers plenty of territory of the whole Northern half of the state and most of Western Wisconsin.&nbsp; Osceola leads the way in Section 1A where they have already defeated second in this section grouping, St. Croix Falls twice this season.&nbsp; Rice Lake came out of this section last year who will still pose a threat with the likes of attacker Addison Sheplee who is averaging nearly four kills per set.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Oconto Falls and Waupaca are leading the way so far in Section 1B and they are also part of the same conference.&nbsp; The Panthers defeated Waupaca to kickoff conference play in five sets and have also defeated Winneconne in tournament play.&nbsp; They recently fell to Fox Valley Lutheran in five sets this past Tuesday night.&nbsp; Waupaca is led by [player_tooltip player_id='277430' first='Peyton' last='Carlson'], the Creighton commit who averages 5.5 kills per set.&nbsp; Winneconne has some big matches coming up where they could gain ground with Kettle Moraine Lutheran and Kewaskum on the slate.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 2A&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Edgewood</td><td>3</td><td>16-6</td><td>13.2</td></tr><tr><td>West Salem</td><td>7</td><td>17-5</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Mount Horeb</td><td>11</td><td>18-6</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Lodi</td><td>25</td><td>16-6</td><td>4.5</td></tr><tr><td>Reedsburg</td><td>29</td><td>14-8</td><td>5.7</td></tr><tr><td>Wisconsin Dells</td><td>38</td><td>14-9</td><td>2.3</td></tr><tr><td>Portage</td><td>42</td><td>8-12</td><td>8.1</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 2B</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Catholic Memorial</td><td>4</td><td>17-8</td><td>14.4</td></tr><tr><td>New Berlin West</td><td>9</td><td>14-6</td><td>9.3</td></tr><tr><td>Stoughton</td><td>17</td><td>24-6</td><td>4.8</td></tr><tr><td>Lakeside Lutheran</td><td>24</td><td>16-13</td><td>10.4</td></tr><tr><td>Edgerton</td><td>28</td><td>14-10</td><td>7.4</td></tr><tr><td>Lake Mills</td><td>41</td><td>15-11</td><td>2.7</td></tr><tr><td>East Troy</td><td>44</td><td>18-18</td><td>4.6</td></tr><tr><td>Evansville</td><td>45</td><td>11-7</td><td>-0.3</td></tr><tr><td>Delavan-Darien</td><td>46</td><td>16-9</td><td>-1.3</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There is so much depth in this section with six teams in the top twenty of Max Preps.&nbsp; In 2A, Edgewood out of Madison has the record and strength of schedule, they are led by NC State commit [player_tooltip player_id='178289' first='Rebecca' last='Ring'] and Wichita State commit in setter [player_tooltip player_id='249623' first='Addie' last='Oeth'].&nbsp; Edgewood has not played West Salem, but they dropped a five set match to Mount Horeb and came back and won their rematch 2-1.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Catholic Memorial plays a daunting schedule of rugged tournaments and is part of the Classic 8 Conference with some of the top teams in the state from D1. New Berlin West has been on a bit of a streak winning their past five, including two wins over Wisconsin Lutheran.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 3A&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Luxemburg-Casco</td><td>1</td><td>18-7</td><td>13.8</td></tr><tr><td>Fox Valley Lutheran</td><td>2</td><td>28-4</td><td>7.5</td></tr><tr><td>Freedom</td><td>23</td><td>13-7</td><td>7.7</td></tr><tr><td>Notre Dame</td><td>34</td><td>9-16</td><td>13.5</td></tr><tr><td>Howards Grove</td><td>36</td><td>15-11</td><td>4.8</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 3B</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Kewaskum</td><td>6</td><td>17-8</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>Grafton</td><td>13</td><td>20-7</td><td>6.8</td></tr><tr><td>Kettle Moraine Lutheran</td><td>21</td><td>10-13</td><td>15.6</td></tr><tr><td>Sheboygan Falls</td><td>30</td><td>16-8</td><td>2.7</td></tr><tr><td>Campbellsport</td><td>37</td><td>13-9</td><td>3.8</td></tr><tr><td>Waupun</td><td>43</td><td>13-12</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>Port Wash</td><td>48</td><td>8-11</td><td>5.4</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Things just got real interesting in this grouping as conference races heat up.&nbsp; These rankings are from 10/1 prior to the Tuesday night matches.&nbsp; Freedom upset top ranked Luxemburg-Casco Tuesday night which will have an impact for both of these teams.&nbsp; Fox Valley Lutheran is in this mix and they are currently ranked second behind Luxemburg-Casco.&nbsp; FVL has a 3-2 win over Freedom, has a 3-2 over Oconto Falls, and will be facing Luxemburg-Casco this upcoming Thursday.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In Section 3B, Kewaskum is in the drivers seat of this section to get a top seed, but they have matches against Sheboygan Falls and Winneconne who are in the hunt.&nbsp; Grafton has conference matches against Port Washington, Homestead, and Cedarburg.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 4A</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>Milwaukee Pius XI</td><td>50</td><td>16-16</td><td>3.2</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Section 4B</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:table --> <figure class="wp-block-table"><table class="has-fixed-layout"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Team</strong></td><td><strong>Max Preps Rank</strong></td><td><strong>Record (10/1)</strong></td><td><strong>Strength of Schedule</strong></td></tr><tr><td>St. Thomas More</td><td>5</td><td>16-5</td><td>9.6</td></tr><tr><td>Whitnall</td><td>27</td><td>13=7</td><td>4.9</td></tr><tr><td>St. Anthony</td><td>49</td><td>8-1</td><td>-11.4</td></tr></tbody></table></figure> <!-- /wp:table --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Pius is the highest ranked team in 4A with the next one being Milwaukee School of Languages coming at 66th.&nbsp; St. Thomas More leads the way in section 4B where they have been on the brink of breaking through to the state tournament the past couple of seasons.&nbsp; They are led by Denver commit [player_tooltip player_id='178039' first='Hailey' last='Goebel'] who is averaging nearly five kills per set. The Cavaliers do have a huge win over top ten in D1, Franklin in five sets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->