Is there a method to encourage set items to pop?

In Diablo 2, is there a known method to encourage a particular item to show up?

I know that, in general, there is no way to increase the odds of getting a set item over a magic item, so magic find/barbarian item find and killing a lot of creatures is the general technique.

I have 2/3 of some sets and 2/5 of others. Rather than get another piece of a set I can't use (nothing worse than popping a sorceress set while running a paladin), is there a way to encourage the game to pop the set you're trying to finish?

After performing some research, it seems that the short answer is: no.

The best way to get a specific set item is to gamble on the appropriate item type, or kill monsters that can drop that item type (still, I wouldn't necessarily call this increasing the odds).

There used to be a site called D2Data.net that had excellent information on the drop percentage for various items. You can still access it using the Wayback machine. For example, say you wanted to find Trang-Oul's Scales, you could go to the set's page and click the link on the third row under the third column (this would be the item's TC, or treasure class). That would get you here, where you can figure out what monster is your best bet for getting this item. Mind you, the chances listed there are only for a monster to drop the appropriate TC. The chance for getting a specific set item is even smaller.

To figure out just how much smaller, you will need to delve deep into this item generation guide.