(Story courtesy of Colorado College Sports Information)
LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Colorado College put an exclamation point on the 2018-19 academic year by earning the Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
CC was one of 186 Division III women's programs nationwide and the only one in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference to be honored for recording a minimum combined 3.30 grade-point average on a 4.0 scale, or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.
It marked the sixth year in a row, the seventh time in the last eight years and the 15th occasion overall that Colorado College earned the award since it was first presented in 1993.
In addition to recording a combined 3.577 grade-point average, the Tigers repeated as SCAC champions, made the program's 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and were ranked No. 9 in the final AVCA Division III Coaches Top 25 Poll.
Earlier this year, 16 of the team's 19 members were named to the SCAC Academic Honor Roll for maintaining a minimum 3.25 GPA. The Tigers who earned that distinction were Isabelle Aragon-Menzel, Lizzy Counts, Aria Dudley, Anna Gurolnick, Haley Harris, Hannah Kip, Rachel Krutz, Caitlin Laurence, Sarah Lawton, Libby Lazzara, Jordan Mullen, Alex Nickerson, Margo Spaethling, Myca Steffey-Bean, Laney Swan and Isabella Vasquez.
A record 1,125 programs received the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2018-19 season, eclipsing the previous mark of 973 set last year.
CC, which won the SCAC's regular-season and tournament championships, finished the 2018 campaign with a 32-3 record.
The Tigers begin the 2019 season on Friday, Aug. 30, when they play host to the Colorado College Classic at Reid Arena.