The St. Lawrence University volleyball team has been honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the third consecutive year. The Saints were one of 126 (19%) of the 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.

"Too often athletic participation is associated with academic underachievement and this stereotype is simply false when it comes to volleyball," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Couple the smarts represented by these teams with the competitive experience and team-focused training gained on the court and we have a potent formula for future leadership! What a significant contribution that is by their coaches and schools."

The Saints posted another solid academic year with a team grade point average of 3.41. Eight of the 14 players earned Dean's List recognition at least once during the 2013-14 school year while also performing well on the court. St. Lawrence finished the year 21-12 overall and in third place in the highly-competitive Liberty League.

Head coach Shelly Roiger's team was one of four from the conference to earn AVCA Team All-Academic honors, including Bard, Union and Vassar.

The Saints open their 2014 campaign at the Cortland Red Dragon Classic against the University of Rochester on Friday, Aug. 29th at 3:00 pm. Their first home match occurs the following weekend as they open up with SUNY Plattsburgh at 6:00 pm on Friday, September 5th during the Victory Promotions Tournament.