Skyhawks recognized for academic excellence
EASTON, Mass. (August 3, 2017) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced last week that a record 831 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2016-17 season including Stonehill College's women's volleyball team. This year's AVCA number once again breaks the previous years' total of 764 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.
"I am very proud of my team's academic accomplishment," stated head coach Kathleen Colpoys. "Our players are constantly setting goals that push them to be successful on and off the court. This award represents their hard work and dedication in the classroom throughout the entire year."
The AVCA Team Academic Award, celebrating its 25th year, 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, while amassing a 532 team increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 831.
Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 25-year history, with 8,461 awards given out total.
The Skyhawks join Adelphi University, Bentley University, Franklin Pierce University, the College of St. Rose, Southern Connecticut State University, and Southern New Hampshire University as the Northeast-10 Conference teams to make the list. Among all 263 NCAA Division II institutions that sponsor women's volleyball, 118 programs were honored for academic excellence across the country for the 2016-17 academic calendar.
Stonehill women's volleyball team had six players boast a GPA between 3.50-to-4.00 in the latest Northeast-10 Spring 2011 Commissioner's Honor Roll, including freshman Rachel Dunlavy (Brighton, Michigan/Father Gabriel Richard) who posted a 4.00 GPA.
The 2016-17 Skyhawks wrapped up the season with a 12-13 overall record and a 7-7 mark in NE10 play. Stonehill will open up its 2017-18 season by hosting the Skyhawk Invitational on Saturday, September 2 battling Shepherd University with a 5:30 p.m. matchup. They will also play on Sunday, September 3 versus Dominican (N.Y.) College at 10:00 a.m. and Bloomfield College at 5:30 p.m. at the Merkert Gymnasium.
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