By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball program was honored as a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the third straight year, as announced by the AVCA Monday afternoon. The Golden Eagles also claimed the accolade in 2018-19 and 2019-20, meaning the team has achieved the honor in each of head coach Jeannette Waldo's seasons at the helm of the program.
This past year, the purple and gold compiled an impressive 3.54 GPA collectively over both semesters of the 2020-21 academic year. After posting a 3.43 mark in the fall, the team improved with a 3.64 in the spring, even with the added challenge of playing its season in February and March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to the third consecutive year winning the award, the Tech squad has now received recognition by the AVCA for its academic excellence eight times since 1997. The volleyball team also earned its first-ever Large Academic Team of the Year award during Tech's annual Golden Wings Awards, an honor established in 2015-16.
"We as a staff continuously stress the importance of academic success to our student-athletes, so it is always a great sight to see when they are honored for their hard work and efforts in the classroom," Waldo expressed. "We are so incredibly proud of what they have accomplished, particularly during a time that was challenging for so many reasons this past year. Their ability to adapt to playing a spring season and still turn in the kind of success they did is not lost on us and we know it is just a reflection of the kind of character and passion that these young women have for their education. I know I speak for everyone involved that we are very excited to see our team honored again and can't wait to see the continued growth of this program."
The team's 3.64 GPA in the spring narrowly missed the program's top semester mark of 3.68 set last spring. It did, however, represent the team's 42nd-straight semester exceeding a 3.0 cumulative GPA, a streak dating back to the fall of 2000.
The AVCA Team Academic Award was initiated in the 1992-1993 academic year and honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative GPA on a 5.0 scale.
Tech was one of a record 243 Division I teams that earned the academic honor, and in total 1,275 teams were recognized at all levels of the sport. The Golden Eagles also marked one of 10 Ohio Valley Conference programs on the list.
Photo by TTU Sports Information
