Tuesday, August 2, 2016

LEXINGTON, Ky.  – The American Volleyball Coaches Association awarded Seattle Pacific, Central Washington and Northwest Nazarene with the Team Academic Award, joining 120 NCAA Division II programs that received the honor.

Central Washington led all GNAC volleyball teams with a team grade point average of 3.53. Northwest Nazarene, which was the Academic All-Sports Champion as a school, recorded a 3.42 GPA in volleyball. Seattle Pacific also eclipsed the 3.30 mark to represent the GNAC with the AVCA Team Academic Award.

Senior information technology and administration management double major Catie Fry had a 4.00 GPA for Central Washington. Junior biology and anthropology double major Kiah Jones, who was a three-time Faculty Athletic Representative Scholar-Athlete honoree, had a 3.97 GPA for the Wildcats.

For Northwest Nazarene, Shayli Siegfried compiled a 3.85 GPA in her freshman year as a science communications major.

Each of the three teams was well-represented this season on the GNAC volleyball All-Academic list with CWU receiving seven selections, while the Falcons had six and the Crusaders had five. The three teams combined to make up 38 percent of all selections in the 11-team conference.

To be eligible for the AVCA Team Academic Award, teams must have an overall GPA of 3.30 on the 4.0 grading system. The honor is available to all high school and collegiate volleyball teams.