Volleyball earns AVCA Team Academic Award
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Monday that Milligan College was one of 1,125 teams to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 season.
July 23, 2019
MILLIGAN COLLEGE, Tenn. (July 23, 2019) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced Monday that Milligan College was one of 1,125 teams to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2018-2019 season.
"I am happy to see the success of this past year still being rewarded," Head Coach Doneva Bays said. "I'm proud of the work these girls put into the classroom as well as on the court, and I look forward to this year's team continuing the tradition set by those before them."
Last season, the Buffs went 26-9 overall, 16-3 in the AAC, and advanced to the final of the postseason tournament. Graduated senior Alyssa Rupert won AAC libero of the year in addition to three other Buffs earning All-AAC distinction. Setter Kellee Geren and middle blocker Julie Dockery were All-AAC first team while outside hitter Elise Gregory was All-AAC second team and all-freshman.
Rupert, Alyssa Gibson, Dockery and Geren all were recognized for their individual efforts in the classroom, receiving the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete award which requires a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and junior or higher academic status.
The AVCA Team Academic 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 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
The award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but two, while more than doubling the total over the last eight academic years. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 1,125.
Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 25-year history, with exactly 9,586 awards been given out in total. With 1,125 teams to earn the award this season, this number breaks the previous year's total of 977 to set an all-time high.
"I am happy to see the success of this past year still being rewarded," Head Coach Doneva Bays said. "I'm proud of the work these girls put into the classroom as well as on the court, and I look forward to this year's team continuing the tradition set by those before them."
Last season, the Buffs went 26-9 overall, 16-3 in the AAC, and advanced to the final of the postseason tournament. Graduated senior Alyssa Rupert won AAC libero of the year in addition to three other Buffs earning All-AAC distinction. Setter Kellee Geren and middle blocker Julie Dockery were All-AAC first team while outside hitter Elise Gregory was All-AAC second team and all-freshman.
Rupert, Alyssa Gibson, Dockery and Geren all were recognized for their individual efforts in the classroom, receiving the Daktronics-NAIA Scholar-Athlete award which requires a grade-point average of 3.5 or higher and junior or higher academic status.
The AVCA Team Academic 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 GPA on a 4.0 scale.
The award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but two, while more than doubling the total over the last eight academic years. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 1,125.
Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 25-year history, with exactly 9,586 awards been given out in total. With 1,125 teams to earn the award this season, this number breaks the previous year's total of 977 to set an all-time high.