Gamecock Volleyball Programs Earn AVCA Academic Honors

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its annual Team Academic Award recipients Monday. South Carolina was one of only 32 Division I beach programs to be recognized and the indoor program ran its streak to 12 years in a row on the list.
 
This is the first time where both programs were ranked nationally by the AVCA during the season while also collecting academic honors in the postseason.
 
Beach volleyball stands as one of only three programs in the country to own a streak of seven seasons in a row making the list. The Gamecocks are also one of just 12 beach programs to earn the Academic Honor Roll award, given to teams with the top 20 percent GPA in each division. This spring, the team posted an in-season GPA of 3.798, which was the second-highest among all Gamecock teams. That came along with a 23-win season on the sand, the program’s second-highest win total in its history, and the Gamecocks spent the entire season ranked in the AVCA coaches top-20 poll.
 
Despite an unprecedented season on the court, the indoor volleyball program improved its streak to 12 seasons in a row earning the team academic award. While playing a season that stretched for nearly the entire school year, South Carolina still posted a spring GPA of 3.44 and a fall mark of 3.55. The success in the classroom punctuated a strong season playing in adverse conditions; the Gamecocks went 12-10 in a conference-only schedule and collected upsets of No. 4 Florida and No. 25 Missouri along the way. The team was rewarded with a spot in the AVCA coaches top-15 poll in the fall, the program’s first national ranking since 2002.
 
The award recognizes college and high school volleyball teams that maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. For the 2020-21 academic year, the AVCA recognized 1,275 teams.