For the 11th consecutive season, the American Volleyball Coaches Association has honored the Morehead State volleyball program with its highest academic achievement award. The Eagles' 3.43 cumulative GPA during the 2017-18 academic year earned the program its 19th total AVCA Team Academic Award.
"I am proud of the commitment that our students make on a daily basis towards their academic aspirations. Their performance in the classroom would not be possible if it was not for the time and resources our staff and administration has placed into helping them balance all of the demands of being a student athlete," said head coach Jaime Gordon.
The award, which was first awarded during the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball programs who excel in the classroom, maintaining a minimum 3.30 cumulative team GPA. In total, 973 programs were honored with the AVCA Team Academic Award, with 540 programs competing in women's collegiate volleyball competition.
The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest academic achievement honor awarded to volleyball programs around the country in quantity of schools, student-athletes, and coaches honored.
Morehead State volleyball had five athletes register perfect 4.0 GPA's during the 2017-18 academic year. Redshirt senior Jessie Wachtman, senior Maddie Fella, redshirt junior Danielle McCarson, redshirt sophomore Chandler Clark, and sophomore Olivia Lohmeier registered perfect GPA's across both the fall and spring semesters, while Wachtman was named the Morehead State Female Scholar Athlete of the Year.
"This academic success starts at the top with our athletics director Brian Hutchinson and the value he places on academics," added Gordon. "I would also like to recognize the commitment our faculty makes in teaching and mentoring all Morehead State students."
The Eagles kick off the 2018 season with an exhibition match versus in-state foe Bellarmine on Aug. 17. First serve is set for 6 p.m. The regular season begins on Aug. 24-25 as Morehead State hosts the Eagle Challenge. The two-day event features matches with St. Francis Brooklyn (Aug. 24, 11 a.m.), Bradley (Aug. 24, 7 p.m.), and Hampton (Aug. 25, 2 p.m.).
