College men’s volleyball teams shatter record for AVCA academic award

A college men’s volleyball academic record was completely obliterated this most recent school year.

A record-setting 14 NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams earned the AVCA Team Academic Award, the volleyball organization announced Monday.

The Team Academic Award started in 1993 and honors academic excellence among college and high school volleyball teams. To be eligible for this annual award, a team must have at least a cumulative 3.30 grade point average on a 4.0 scale or at least a 4.10 grade point average on a 5.0 scale.

The previous single-year record was five NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams winning this award, which was set in each of the last three years.

All five college men’s volleyball conference had at least one school win the Team Academic Award.

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The MIVA led all conference with five schools — Ball State, Lewis, Loyola, McKendree and Ohio State — earning the academic accolade.

The EIVA had four teams win the award with Charleston, Harvard, Sacred Heart and St. Francis. Harvard also has won this award in six consecutive years and has the nation’s longest active streak among NCAA Division I-II programs.

The MPSF had both Stanford and its newest member Grand Canyon win the Team Academic Award. In addition, Hawai’i from the Big West, Mount Olive from the Conference Carolinas and the independent team Coker each won the award.

The AVCA also announced that Grand Canyon, Harvard, McKendree, MIT and Sacred Heart finished with the top-five grade point averages among college men’s volleyball programs.

This was the 11th consecutive year that the AVCA set a record for programs earning the Team Academic Award. A combined 822 high school and college teams in both men’s volleyball and women’s volleyball received the academic honor.

Among the teams receiving the award included 19 college men’s volleyball programs and 21 high school boys’ volleyball programs.

2017 AVCA Team Academic Award (NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball teams)
Ball State
Charleston
Coker
Grand Canyon
Harvard
Hawai’i
Lewis
Loyola
McKendree
Mount Olive
Ohio State
Sacred Heart
St. Francis
Stanford

2017 AVCA Team Academic Award (NCAA Division III men’s volleyball teams)
Dominican
Endicott
MIT
NYU
Stevens Tech

2017 AVCA Team Academic Award (high school boys’ volleyball teams)
Adlai E. Stevenson
Alter
Altoona Area
Cathedral
Chandler
Corona del Sol
Glenbard West
Horace Mann
La Jolla
McQuaid Jesuit
Orchard Park
Paul VI Catholic
Roncalli
Sacred Heart Cathedral
St Ignatius College Prep
St. Charles North
St. Mark’s School of Texas
Vernon Township
Westerville South
Williams Field
York Community