Appearances are not always what they might suggest. This old adage has been somewhat of a theme so far in the Ohio Valley Conference volleyball standings this season.

Look no further than Tennessee Tech and Southern Illinois Edwardsville.

From an outsider’s perspective, Tennessee Tech, which has a 7-13 record, may, from the look of it, seem to be in the playoff hunt, especially when compared alongside Southern Illinois-Edwardsville, a team with fewer tallies in the win column. And both teams, as different as their records might suggest, enter the weekend matches on losing streaks.

The Tigers, despite possessing a higher hitting percentage, lower opponent attack percentage and superior service ace per set average (best in the OVC), have been in the doldrums for close to a month. Southern Illinois Edwardsville, meanwhile, is situated in the seventh place slot in the standings, making the Cougars, as it stands now, playoff eligible. 

But, only one of these teams, if the season ended today, would make the playoffs. 

How, then, can Southern Illinois Edwardsville be in it, so to speak, and Tennessee Tech be so far out of contention?

The answer: conference records.

Record wise, the Cougars are five victories shy of what Southeast Missouri needed to sneak into the eighth and final spot in the tournament last season. 

Six of their wins came just 10 games into the season. All of these victories were matches in which Tennessee Tech played non-conference teams which, in the grand scheme of things, are of little value. 

But, nevertheless, after that sixth win, the Tigers plunged into a seven game losing streak, falling prey to two conference opponents, Eastern Kentucky and Morehead State. 

Conference wins are the only form of currency that can amount to a playoff berth. Anything else, such as non-conference victories, are nothing more than counterfeit money.

The Tigers were able to overwhelm North Alabama in early September, but since then, Tennessee Tech has lost all but one match. The one conference team the Tigers did manage to defeat, Belmont, has capitulated more than any other member in the OVC, as they lug around the worst record. 

For Southern Illinois Edwardsville, the opposite has held true. 

Although the Cougars lost the plurality of their non-conference games, Southern Illinois Edwardsville has emerged as the victor in half of its OVC matches.

Southern Illinois Edwardsville has been, as of late, faring quite well versus other playoff hopefuls, routing Tennessee-Martin and Southeast Missouri in back to back games two weeks ago. 

Unlike Tennessee Tech, the Cougars have primed themselves for the OVC tournament, thanks to all the conference wins that, above all else, positioned them above teams with better overall records.

Tom O’Connor can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].