LEXINGTON, Ky. - For the 12th year in a row, the University of Sioux Falls Volleyball Team has earned a spot on the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award recipient list. USF, which had a 3.40 team grade point average in 2019-20, was honored with 171 other DII programs.

To be eligible to receive the Team Academic Award from the USMC/AVCA, which has been announced every year since 1992-93, teams must maintain a 3.30 grade point average.  

Directed by 10th-year Head Coach Joel McCartney, USF Volleyball has consistently been honored for its academic success. In McCartney's nine seasons, the teams have not dropped below a cumulative grade point average of 3.40.  

McCartney spoke highly about his team when asked about the academic success of the USF Volleyball team.

"I am continually amazed by and proud of the quality of students we have as athletes in our program," said McCartney. "Our student-athletes are fully committed to pursuing both academic and athletic greatness. The consistency of this standard speaks well to the culture of our program family, but also to the bigger culture of our USF community."

In 2019, USF finished 17-11 overall and was nationally ranked for several weeks. The Cougars opened 11-0 and earned a national ranking in the AVCA National Poll for the first time. USF opened at 24th and moved up to 19th in the AVCA poll.

Seniors KaSandra Springer and Abby Feyereisen were named second team All-NSIC. In addition, the Cougars had six Academic All-NSIC honorees with both Feyereisen and Springer earning their third straight honor. Three USF student-athletes were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team of Excellence.