ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFKnights.com) – For the sixth consecutive year, the UCF volleyball team was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association with its Academic Excellence Award. The laurel comes after the Knights posted a 3.7 GPA during the fall and a 3.62 GPA after the spring semester.
UCF was among the nation’s top academic-performing programs for the ninth time in program history. All nine campaigns have come during the Todd Dagenais era.
"It was special to have a record-breaking year academically during the same time as our historic campaign on the court," Dagenais said. "Our student-athletes take winnings seriously, but they understand success in the classroom is the cornerstone to our program's identity. Our continued thanks to Carly Place for the extraordinary effort and time she puts into the futures of our student-athletes."
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.
The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but two, while more than doubling the total over the last eight academic years. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 1,125.
UCF returns to the court on Aug. 30 for a tournament at Ole Miss. The Knights return five starters, including AVCA All-American and American Athletic Conference Freshman of the Year McKenna Melville.
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