Skyhawks recognized for academic excellence in 2018-19

AVCA Announces Team Academic Awards for 2018-19

The 2018-19 team saw 11 of its players earn a GPA between 3.00-4.00

EASTON, Mass. (August 7, 2019) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced that a record 1,126 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2018-19 season including Stonehill College's women's volleyball team. This year's AVCA number once again breaks the previous years' total of 977 and sets a new all-time high for this award.  

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 by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. 

The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-01 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but two. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 1,126.  

Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 25-year history, with 9,586 awards given out total. 

The Skyhawks join Adelphi University, Bentley University, Franklin Pierce University, University of New Haven, Pace University, Southern Connecticut State University, and Southern New Hampshire University as the Northeast-10 Conference teams to make the list. Adelphi leads the NE10 teams with 11 honors, while Stonehill has collected four awards. Among all 241 NCAA Division II institutions that sponsor women's volleyball, 142 programs were honored for academic excellence across the country for the 2018-19 academic calendar. 

Stonehill women's volleyball team had 11 players boast a GPA between 3.00-to-4.00 in the latest NE10 Academic Honor Roll, including senior Rachel Dunlavy who has posted a 4.00 GPA in five of the last six semesters. The Skyhawks were one of the 12 NCAA Division II institutions to reach their Dig Pink fundraising goals through the Side-Out Foundation. The Side-Out Foundation is a nationwide movement to provide meaningful and impactful experiences for athletes while inspiring and empowering them to come together in support of the stage IV breast cancer community.

Stonehill wrapped up its 2018 season with an 11-11 overall mark and a 7-7 NE10 record.

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