The Shepherd University volleyball team has been honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) as an AVCA Team Academic Award winner for the 2012-13 academic year. Shepherd was among 77 Division Il teams to gain 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 on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. Shepherd boasted a 3.47 team grade point average for the year.

“Excellence doesn’t happen by accident, either on the court or in the classroom,” said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. “It takes consistent preparation, relentless effort, and determined leadership. A full year of academic achievement, by an entire team of individual students, is a remarkable achievement. What better way to start a new season than with a celebration of an award so emblematic of all that is necessary for sustained success.”