Volleyball Earns AVCA Team Academic Award

For the eighth consecutive year the Central Connecticut volleyball program earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for its performance in the classroom during the 2013-14 academic year.  Volleyball programs ranging from high school to NCAA Division I are eligible for the award, which goes to teams that maintain 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.

Across all levels of the AVCA, 676 programs received the team academic award this year.  At the Division I level 134 programs earned the honor.  The number of overall and Division I recipients in 2013-14 are both records for the AVCA.

The AVCA began presenting the team academic award following the 1992-93 academic year.

"Too often athletic participation is associated with academic underachievement and this stereotype is simply false when it comes to volleyball," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Couple the smarts represented by these teams with the competitive experience and team-focused training gained on the court and we have a potent formula for future leadership! What a significant contribution that is by their coaches and schools."

The Blue Devils finished the 2013 season as the runner-up in the Northeast Conference.  CCSU finished second in the NEC regular season standings and then fell to #1 seed LIU Brooklyn in the NEC Championship Match.  The Blue Devils return three All-NEC performers from last season in senior Rachel Dunlap and juniors Makenna Lommori and Heather Trueman.

The 2014 season will open on August 29 at Connecticut against the University of Indiana.