Lewis' Largest Players Shine at World's Largest Math Event

Twin Lewis Players Luke And Zach Pekol Present Award-Winning Research At World’s Largest Math Event

Last year, Lewis players Luke and Zach Pekol earned an impressive 4.0 GPA and received Academic All-MIVA honors. This year, the twins continue to stand out as student-athletes, winning Outstanding Speaker Awards for presenting their original research on home-court advantage in NCAA national collegiate men’s volleyball at the Joint Mathematics Meeting (JMM).

The Joint Mathematics Meetings, hosted annually by the American Mathematical Society (AMS), with strong participation from the Mathematical Association of America (MAA), is widely regarded as the largest annual mathematics gathering in the world.

The Pekol twins Luke (left) and Zach (right) along with their parents (center).

The Research

The home-court advantage phenomenon is not new and has been well-established through numerous studies. In a study on men’s basketball, they found that home-court advantage is linked to enhanced game efficiency due to a supportive home crowd, suggesting that familiarity and environment play a major role in team performance. Another study examining men's and women's volleyball found that even in the absence of fans, games played in a controlled environment without spectators still presented home-court advantage. In that case, factors such as avoiding travel fatigue and familiarity with the court benefited the home team.

So, what makes Pekol's research different? Their research focuses on quantifying how the home-court environment influences match outcomes by developing a unique algorithm that analyzes statistical data. They employed a mathematical linear algebra technique to develop the algorithm that mirrored the coaches' polls in ranking teams while removing human bias. They utilized a combination of datasets from both Volleymetrics and the NCAA, creating a massive pool to extract more refined data from. Going beyond simple win-loss records and human bias, they utilize their algorithm to estimate the likelihood of a home-court advantage, gain insight into performance indicators such as point differentials and set outcomes.

In a nutshell, their algorithm uses a large dataset to estimate possible outcomes, expected performances, and differentials, producing a ranking system based on probability modeling rather than perception. Because of this, the results they provide are more nuanced and fact-based than the currently existing typical systems.

Plans for the future

As Luke and Zach enter their junior year at Lewis University, they are both focused on their respective majors. They currently have no specific plans to further their research, but have expressed intent to refine their algorithm, expand their research to include other metrics, and even have an interest in applying their algorithm to other team sports. In the near future, they hope to present their expanded study to their peers at the Senior Seminar at Lewis University in their senior year.