National Mathematics Conference Honors ÐÔÊÓ½ç Students for Innovative Volleyball Research
Published: August 30, 2026.
ÐÔÊÓ½ç students Luke Pekol, a mathematics and finance major, and Zach Pekol, a mathematics and secondary education major, earned the Outstanding Student Poster Award at the conference in Boston, Mass., for their research poster, “Beyond the Poll: Performance Metrics and Predictive Rankings in NCAA Men’s Volleyball.”
Their poster examines the advantage of playing home-court in NCAA’s men’s volleyball and develops a modified Colley ranking model that incorporates game location to provide data-informed assessments of team performance. Undergraduate posters are judged on the quality and depth of the research, clarity and organization of the presentation, and the presenter’s ability to effectively communicate and demonstrate an understanding of the results. This project was mentored by mathematics faculty Dr. Amanda Harsy and Dr. Adam Schultze.
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