Three PBC Volleyball Programs Receive AVCA Academic Team Award

LEXINGTON, KY – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced that three Peach Belt Conference schools are among the 46 Division II programs to earn an AVCA Team Academic Award. Lander, Montevallo and USC Aiken were all award recipients, the most the PBC has had in one year.

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.

USC Aiken as a team finished the 2008-09 school year with a 3.392 grade point average and had five of its 11 student-athletes in 2008-09 with a gpa of 3.5 or higher.

“I am excited for our program to be able to excel on and off the court,” noted USCA head coach Glenn Cox. “We are trying to build something special here and this is just part of our goals for the program.”

The award caps off a strong first season for Montevallo head coach Katie O’Brien who led the Falcons to their first postseason since 2003 and led a charge in the classroom that earned the schools first recognition by the AVCA for academic excellence since the award inception back in 1992. Montevallo spent last year as a part of the Gulf South Conference but made the move to the Peach Belt on July 1.

Under head coach Carla Decker, the Lander Bearcats went 22-12 in 2008 and reached the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. With a 7-3 conference mark, the Bearcats were tied for second in the PBC standings.

The three PBC teams were also among 14 Division II schools to be named to the list for the first time.

The 2009 volleyball season begins on August 28.