Lexington, Ky. – The Western Carolina volleyball team received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) 2020-21 Team Academic Award, the organization announced on Monday. Additionally, Western Carolina was the only Southern Conference member to be named to the Team Academic Honor Roll, which is comprised of the top 20 percent of team GPA's for each division. This marks the seventh consecutive season and 11
th time overall that the Catamounts have been honored, joining a record 243 total NCAA Division I schools that claimed the team award this year.
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.
As a team, the Catamounts compiled a 3.739 GPA for the 2020-21 academic year.
Among the individual academic highlights from last year include
Merry Gebel, who earned first-team CoSIDA Academic All-District 3 honors along with Southern Conference Academic All-Conference laurels.
Sydney Carlson was one of four WCU student-athletes with a perfect 4.0 GPA for the 2020-21 academic year and was also on the SoCon All-Academic Team. Additional WCU student-athletes on the league's All-Academic Team include
Madison McNally,
Haley Multerer,
Caroline Perret,
Noelle Soldo,
Johnna Robinson, and
MaKenzie White.
WCU volleyball had nine student-athletes earn the SoCon Commissioner's medals with a GPA of 3.8-or-higher with
Erin Carpenter,
Julia Gardon,
Caroline Perret,
Eden Punch, Johanna Robinson,
Ali Schreiber and Makenzie White each joining Carlson and Gebel. Combined, 13 Catamounts were named to the WCU Chancellor's List in either the Fall 2020 or Spring 2021 semester with
Destinee Dorsey and
Livi Weidmann joining those recognized above.
In addition to WCU, other SoCon members that earned the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2020-21 include The Citadel, ETSU, Furman, UNCG, Chattanooga, and Wofford.
Keep track of everything related to Catamount volleyball and WCU Athletics through its social media outlets on Facebook (fb.com/catamountsports), Instagram (@wcu_catamounts) and Twitter (@catamounts, @wcu_volleyball).
Western Carolina – All-Time AVCA Team Academic Award Recipients
2020-21
2019-20
2018-19
2017-18
2016-17
2015-16
2014-15
2012-13
2002-03
2001-02
2000-01
