Mountaineers Volleyball Earns USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award
By Paul Hall on Wednesday, July 21st, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Information provided by EOU Athletics) The United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has announced that 1,275 collegiate and high school across the country have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2020-21 season. Making the list at the NAIA level was Eastern Oregon University.
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. Additionally, the top 20% of team GPAs from each division are designated as Team Academic Honor Roll schools, representing the highest scholarly achievement in the sport.
For the Mountaineers, this is the eighth time overall they have garnered at the AVCA Team Academic Award and now the seventh straight time in doing so. EOU was also tabbed as one of the top 20% teams in the NAIA and picked up the Team Academic Honor Roll honors as well. The Mountaineers also earned Academic Honor Roll status during the 2018-19 season. EOU first garnered the team award after 2009-10 academic year and have now earned in seven straight times since the 2014-15 academic year.
EOU Volleyball is no stranger to success in the classroom and on the court as the team maintained one of the highest GPAs in the Mountaineer Athletics Department during the 2020-21 academic year. They finished with a team GPA of 3.639. Along with that, four student-athletes were named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team in Kiley McMurtrey, Madison Pilon, Cambree Scott, and Jet Taylor. McMurtrey and Pilon both went on to be named CoSIDA Academic All-Americans as well for the 2020-21 academic year.
About the United States Marine Corps
Service in the Marine Corps is a noble path and demanding journey reserved for those with the willingness to engage and the determination to exceed all mental, moral and physical requirements to become Marines.
The Marine Corps engages in national partnerships that provide valuable opportunities to spread public awareness of the Marine Corps’ purpose by connecting the organization to those communities it serves. The relationships established between the Marine Corps and our nation’s athletic communities ensure our message of aspirational service resonates with coaches, athletes and their influencers.
The 2021 United States Marine Corps partnership with AVCA has been developed to build enduring relationships with the AVCA member community and lend our support to those coaches and athletic facilitators who help young Americans win battles every day.
About AVCA
The AVCA, with its headquarters in Lexington, Ky., is managed by Associations International. The mission of the AVCA is to advance the sport of volleyball with AVCA coaches at the epicenter of leadership, advocacy and professional development. With a membership of over 7,000 and counting, the AVCA provides a professional network for those individuals and companies dedicated to enhancing and promoting the sport. Members include collegiate, high school, club, youth and Olympic coaches, as well as volleyball club directors. The AVCA provides education to volleyball coaches, recognition of elite players and coaches, promotion of volleyball competitions throughout the world, and networking opportunities for volleyball products and services providers. The association celebrates its 40th anniversary in 2021. Further information is available at www.avca.org.
2020-21 BREAKDOWN BY DIVISION
NCAA Division I Women: 243*
NCAA Division II Women: 161
NCAA Division III Women: 233*
NAIA Women: 71*
Two-Year College: 27
Collegiate Men: 35
High School Girls: 413
High School Beach: 6*
High School Boys: 40
Collegiate Beach: 46*
Total 2021 winners: 1,275
*Indicates all-time record for the category.
