July 24, 2017

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its Team Academic Award recipients on Monday. South Carolina was one of just 19 beach programs nation-wide made the cut, and the Gamecocks are one of just three beach programs in the country to make the AVCA’s list for three consecutive seasons.

“It took incredible dedication to achieve what these young women did, both competitively and academically, this year,” head coach Moritz Moritz said. “I’m proud of the standard that our student-athletes have set for themselves. Success in the classroom is not just a goal now for our team, it’s an expectation.”

The award honors college and high school volleyball teams that maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. For 2016-17, 822 teams were recognized by the AVCA, a new record.

South Carolina returns seven starters for 2017-18, after a historic spring that saw the team make the national tournament for the first time in program history. The Gamecocks also set a new record for wins in a single season after finishing 23-11, and finished the year ranked No. 8 in the AVCA’s coaches poll.