By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech volleyball program was honored as a recipient of the United State Marine Corps - American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the fifth consecutive year, as announced by the AVCA Thursday afternoon. The Golden Eagles also claimed the accolade in 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, and 2021-22, meaning the team has achieved the honor in each of head coach Jeannette Phillips' five seasons at the helm of the program. The Tech beach volleyball squad also took home the honor following its inaugural season under the direction of head coach Zach Weinberg.
The purple and gold squads compiled an impressive 3.37 GPA collectively over both semesters of the 2022-23 academic year. In addition to the fifth consecutive season winning the award, the Tech has now received recognition from the AVCA for its academic excellence 10 times since 1997.
"Our team takes the act of performing as a student-athlete, in that order, very seriously," Phillips said. "We are so proud of all of their accomplishments. We know that being a Division I athlete is hard work and the fact that our team can maintain such high standards for themselves in the classroom, as well as on the court, speaks volumes to their work ethic."
The team's 3.25 GPA in the spring represented the program's 46th-straight semester exceeding a 3.0 cumulative GPA, a streak dating back to the fall of 2000. The streak marks the longest of any Tech athletic team.
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 201 Division I teams that earned the academic honor for volleyball and one of just 46 to collect the achievement in beach volleyball. A whopping 1,333 teams were recognized at all levels of the sport. The Golden Eagles also marked one of seven Ohio Valley Conference programs on the list.
Photo by Emily Armstrong
