The United States Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association has named the University of St. Thomas-Houston Volleyball Team as one of the teams earning the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award this season.

“Academic success is a main priority of the program at UST and each student athlete contributed to this award,” St. Thomas Head Volleyball Coach Keanne Burt said. “They are a great group of academically focused, responsible women who understand what it takes to be successful. We are proud to receive this program award yet again this year.”

Earning a place on the academic award list were 1,333 collegiate and high school volleyball teams.

This marks an all-time record number of programs honored for their academic achievements. The award, initiated in the 1992–93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale.

“The commitment our coaches make to help our student athletes pursue the best versions of themselves is evident in the academic accomplishments highlighted today." said AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "Achievement on the court has always been closely tied to success in the classroom which is reflected by the number of championship programs honored.”

The additional distinction of Team Academic Honor Roll celebrates programs in the top 20% of GPAs for their division.