LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The Kutztown University women's volleyball program picked up a pair of academic awards from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA), Thursday.
The Golden Bears received the United States Marine Corps/AVCA Team Academic Award for holding a team grade point average of 3.3 or better during the 2022-23 academic year and also claimed a spot on the Academic Award Honor Roll for registering a GPA in the top 20 percentile among NCAA Division II programs.
Kutztown, guided by head coach
Allison Keeley, posted a 3.703 team GPA this past year, best in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC). It's the first time the Golden Bears have been recognized with the the Team Academic Award since 2012 (fourth time overall) and first time appearing on the Honor Roll in team history.
The award, first presented at the conclusion of the 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 their 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."
Ten of the 12 student-athletes on the 2022 KU volleyball roster held a 3.25 cumulative GPA or better at the conclusion of the 2022-23 academic year to earn PSAC Scholar-Athlete honors, including:
Gianna Agosti (Nesquehoning, Pa./Marian Catholic),
Adrianna Derstine (Barto, Pa./Boyertown),
Sadie Doss (Mechanicsburg, Pa./Mechanicsburg),
Cat Farole (Orefield, Pa./Parkland),
Mallory Hoch (Zionsville, Pa./Southern Lehigh),
Jasmine Mooney (Lehighton, Pa./Marian Catholic),
Lexi Morrow (Landisburg, Pa./West Perry),
Anna Parmer (Firestone, Colo./Mead),
Julia Post (Sellersville, Pa./Pennridge) and
Maddie Ruhland (Spring Grove, Pa./Spring Grove).
On the court, Kutztown went 13-12 overall to clinch its first winning season since 2011 and most wins since 2014. The Bears were 7-7 in PSAC play for their highest conference win total dating back to 2014.
