Volleyball team earns Team Academic Award from American Volleyball Coaches Association

The Western Washington University women's volleyball team, coached by Diane Flick, is among 57 teams in NCAA Division II to be given the Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

To achieve the recognition, the WWU team had to hold a cumulative grade-point average of 3.3 out of 4.0 for the entire academic year. Just under 12 percent of teams in Division II earned this recognition.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year.

"A hearty congratulations to all the volleyball coaches whose teams won the 2011 AVCA Team Academic Award," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer in a news release. "Teams do not succeed in the classroom by accident any more so than they do on the court. The same coach who taught them volleyball skills cared enough about their academic achievement to gather their grades, calculate their GPA, and submit a nomination on their behalf. In doing so, these coaches sent a clear message that classroom success is just as important as court success."

It was also recently announced that 39 WWU athletes have received Div. II ADA Academic Achievement Awards for maintaining GPAs of 3.5 and higher.