MOREHEAD, Ky. – For the third consecutive season, both Morehead State volleyball and beach volleyball programs have garnered the AVCA Team Academic Award, the highest team academic honor presented by the American Volleyball Coaches Association.

The 2019-20 academic year marks the 12th consecutive year volleyball has garnered the AVCA Team Academic Award and the 22nd time the team has claimed the honor since the award's inception. For beach volleyball, 2019-20 is the third consecutive season while also claiming the Team Academic Honor Roll distinction that is awarded to the top-15 team GPAs in collegiate beach volleyball.

"We talk about legacy within our program and it is clear that this team is continuing to add to the academic legacy of the program," said volleyball coach Jaime Gordon. "Being a student-athlete is a full-time job and I am proud of these young women for committing to excellence in the classroom."

Beach volleyball head coach Kyrsten Becker added, "In a season and semester that was filled with adversity and unexpected challenges, I am proud of our team for maintaining excellence in the classroom. They are incredibly dedicated to their academics, so I'm happy they can be recognized for all of their hard work."

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, 1,313 programs were honored with the AVCA Team Academic Award, with 227 programs competing in NCAA Division I women's collegiate volleyball competition and 41 competing in collegiate beach volleyball competition.

The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest academic achievement honor awarded to volleyball programs around the country in the quantity of schools, student-athletes, and coaches honored.

Overall, volleyball and beach volleyball maintained 3.64 and 3.67 team GPAs, respectively while four volleyball student-athletes and five beach volleyball student-athletes maintained 4.00 GPAs during the 2019-20 academic year.