Wingate, LMU Receive AVCA Team Academic Award

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Wingate University and Lincoln Memorial University volleyball teams are among the 409 squads to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2008-09 season.

This number once again eclipses the previous years' total of 354 and sets a new all-time high for this award.

Initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, the award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.00 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.00 scale.

The 2008 Wingate volleyball team members hold a 3.352 cumulative GPA. Eleven team members were named to the 2008-09 South Atlantic Conference Commissioner's Honor Roll this spring: Lauren Billo, Rebecca Bloemer, Chelsea Cancelliere, Ashley Craven, Janice Ehorn, Jacki Emmenecker, Stormi Gale, Brittany Horner, Heather Myklebust, Sophie Schellenberger and Liz Willis.

The 2008-09 Lady Railsplitters turned in an impressive 3.395 GPA last year in addition to earning their first trip ever to the NCAA Tournament.

"I am very proud of our team's recognition for our academic performance from the AVCA," Wingate head coach Shelton Collier says. "Our players have set a high priority on doing well in the classroom, in addition to winning volleyball games on the court."

"Each year I'm impressed all over again by the academic prowess of volleyball players," AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer says. "Total AVCA Team Academic Award winners increased this year by another 55 schools (15 percent) over last year's record. Even more impressive, 22 percent of our four-year college teams had grade point averages of 3.2 or better."

NCAA Division I once again had 71 schools receiving the award for academic achievements. NCAA Division II and NCAA Division III surpassed their marks from last year with 46 and 77 schools, respectively.

The NAIA had 35 of its member schools achieve the honor this year, which is 21 percent of its total membership for 2008-09. Nine schools in the two-year college category attained the mark while the NCCAA produced two recipients.

The NCAA men's programs produced multiple recipients of the award this year, with two Division I schools and another two Division III schools earning the award. A total of 165 high school boys' and girls' programs - 17 boys' teams and 148 girls' teams - earned the award in 2008-09.

Over 900 different schools have earned the award in the program's 17-year history; all total, over 2,800 awards have been given out. Only two institutions have earned the distinction all 17 years: Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro, Ark.) and Ross S. Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas).