The St. Lawrence University volleyball team has been honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the fourth consecutive year. The Saints were one of the 140 NCAA Division III women's volleyball programs to receive the award this season.

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.

"A hearty congratulations to all the volleyball coaches whose teams won the AVCA Team Academic Award," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Teams do not succeed in the classroom by accident any more so than they do on the court. The same coach who taught them volleyball skills cared enough about their academic achievement to gather their grades, calculate their GPA, and submit a nomination on their behalf. In doing so, these coaches sent a clear message that classroom success is just as important as volleyball success. All involved should celebrate this award!"

The Saints, who finished the 2014 season with a 24-13 record on the court, posted another outstanding academic year with a team grade point average of 3.456. Eight of the 15 players earned Dean's List recognition at least once during the 2014-15 school year with 10 of those listed on the roster earning a spring semester GPA of at least a 3.50. The team's spring semester GPA was a 3.518, which is the second highest average posted for a Saints volleyball team in the past seven years.

St. Lawrence University is one of four Liberty League schools to earn the accolade, along with Bard, Union, and Vassar.

The Saints open their 2015 campaign at SUNY Canton on Tuesday, September 1st at 6:00 PM. Their first home match is Friday, September 25th when they co-host the Canton Classic and take on SUNY Canton and Medaille.