The Rating Percentage Index isn’t a big fan of the Missouri Tigers volleyball squad right now. It has them ranked as the 108th-best team in the country.

But that’s not fazing Mizzou coach Wayne Kreklow.

“The message to these guys is that we just need to focus on getting better,” Kreklow said prior to the team’s match against the Auburn Tigers last week. “We don’t need to worry about (standings) right now, just practicing and getting better.”

Mizzou players said they know they have an uphill battle to fight if they want to be playing in December, but they’re trying to stay in the moment for the time being.

“The biggest thing this year is … not trying to pay attention to standings or stats because that can really bring you down,” senior middle blocker Whitney Little said. “Our big picture goal is the tournament and making it there, but it’s more about the (little things) and the narrow view to get what we want. We all have the mindset that it’s so early in the season … and anything can happen on any given day.”

While it won’t be an easy task making the NCAA Tournament, the Tigers know what they have to do to make it there. They’ve looked dominant at times this year but not often enough to make their mark in the standings to this point.

“We have to be more consistent and not give up points,” Kreklow said. “When you’re playing to 25, it only takes two times when you give a team three or four points in a rotation and you’re really in a tough spot. The teams in the (Southeastern Conference) are good enough, particularly on the road, that they’re not going to give you those points back a lot of times.”

Strictly from a win-loss standpoint, the Tigers are similar to the 2012 Missouri team that ultimately finished with a 19-11 record, missing the tournament. But players and coaches alike are convinced that this year is different.

“The people are different. This team is different,” senior libero Sarah Meister said. “The quality of the work that we put in (during) practice is different.”

Coach Kreklow echoed that sentiment. He said his current team is younger than his 2012 squad and a “much more together team than that one.”

“I know there were a lot of issues that year that made that team more difficult than it needed to be,” Kreklow said. “I think this is a much better team. I like their work ethic. They really think about what they’re doing. It’s just a good league, and it’s hard when you have a bunch of young kids. … It just takes a little time.”

The Tigers are currently 12-8 and have 13 games left to make an impression on the Division I Women’s Volleyball Committee if they want to be in the postseason. But Kreklow said he thinks they have what it takes — and the Tigers are only playing up to approximately “75 or 80 percent” of their potential.

“Sometimes we’re a really good team and sometimes we’re a great team,” he said. “It just takes time.”