Volleyball earns AVCA Team Academic Award after record-setting year in classroom
7/19/2021 2:15:00 PM | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the first time in seven years, Montana's volleyball team was a recipient of the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award. The accolade annually recognizes collegiate and high school volleyball programs across the country who earned a cumulative grade-point average above 3.30 during the academic year.
The Grizzlies had previously earned recognition in 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14, but hit a dip after that. In fact, to truly celebrate the achievement, one must know where the program came from.
When Allison Lawrence took over as head coach in 2017, and for the next several semesters after, volleyball had the lowest team GPA in the athletics department.
"When we took over the program, our academic situation was one of the first things we wanted to address," Lawrence recalled. "We were not hitting our details with school, but more concerning, we were not passionate about school. We knew that in order for our athletes to find meaning in this experience, and ultimately reach their potential on the court, we needed to build a culture that had a curiosity for learning at the center."
Today, the volleyball team has the third-highest GPA in the department, with 11 student-athletes earning a 3.0 this past semester, five making the University's Dean's List and two recording a 4.0. In addition to the recognition from the AVCA, last week Montana placed 10 individuals – representing two-thirds of volleyball's roster – on the Academic All-Big Sky Conference list.
To put that number in perspective, the 10 individuals honored ties a program record and is two more than Montana earned in the three previous seasons combined.
"To see it and witness it from the inside makes it even more special," Lawrence said. "What we were charged with from Day 1 was getting this program where it needed to be from an academic and cultural standpoint. You can't create a championship program without those two pillars in place first, so I'm incredibly proud of this step."
Much credit goes to academic adviser Jen Zellmer-Cuaresma. Lawrence and her staff also changed their habits, becoming more involved with each student-athlete's learning rather than weekly meetings simply to check the boxes.
But the biggest praise goes to the student-athletes themselves, who have begun taking pride in their education.
"It has been an incredible joy to both recruit athletes who have a passion for learning, and then watch that passion grow as they go through life here at UM as a student-athlete," Lawrence said. "One of my favorite things is when l hear one of them say, 'Oh my gosh, we had this lab that blew my mind!' and then I get to be the student, learning from their passion and being drawn into it. It bonds us and gives them meaning, not for that day but for the rest of their lives."
Lawrence saw her team's GPA rise in May 2020, but was cautious to get too excited, knowing that the student-athletes were not in season, and that grading structures had changed once classes got moved online.
But then she saw learning continue to advance throughout the fall, and again into this past spring.
That's what got her even more enthusiastic, seeing the progress her team was making in the midst of a pandemic and in the middle of an adverse season.
"To see the big reward happen in a spring where we're playing a COVID season, we're dealing with a ton of adversity and a ton of stress, and we're still restricted in terms of how we're going to class and how often we're interacting with instructors… We're traveling with masks in a high-stress environment, and our culture showed up stronger than it ever has before, and that is hugely rewarding and the thing I'm most proud of since becoming head coach."
After an abbreviated Spring 2021 season, Montana is gearing up for a traditional schedule this fall, beginning Aug. 28 in Charleston, South Carolina. The Grizzlies will play nine home matches, starting with a non-conference match vs. Seattle on Sept. 1, and season tickets are now on sale.
The Grizzlies had previously earned recognition in 2005-06, 2008-09, 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14, but hit a dip after that. In fact, to truly celebrate the achievement, one must know where the program came from.
When Allison Lawrence took over as head coach in 2017, and for the next several semesters after, volleyball had the lowest team GPA in the athletics department.
"When we took over the program, our academic situation was one of the first things we wanted to address," Lawrence recalled. "We were not hitting our details with school, but more concerning, we were not passionate about school. We knew that in order for our athletes to find meaning in this experience, and ultimately reach their potential on the court, we needed to build a culture that had a curiosity for learning at the center."
Today, the volleyball team has the third-highest GPA in the department, with 11 student-athletes earning a 3.0 this past semester, five making the University's Dean's List and two recording a 4.0. In addition to the recognition from the AVCA, last week Montana placed 10 individuals – representing two-thirds of volleyball's roster – on the Academic All-Big Sky Conference list.
To put that number in perspective, the 10 individuals honored ties a program record and is two more than Montana earned in the three previous seasons combined.
"To see it and witness it from the inside makes it even more special," Lawrence said. "What we were charged with from Day 1 was getting this program where it needed to be from an academic and cultural standpoint. You can't create a championship program without those two pillars in place first, so I'm incredibly proud of this step."
Much credit goes to academic adviser Jen Zellmer-Cuaresma. Lawrence and her staff also changed their habits, becoming more involved with each student-athlete's learning rather than weekly meetings simply to check the boxes.
But the biggest praise goes to the student-athletes themselves, who have begun taking pride in their education.
"It has been an incredible joy to both recruit athletes who have a passion for learning, and then watch that passion grow as they go through life here at UM as a student-athlete," Lawrence said. "One of my favorite things is when l hear one of them say, 'Oh my gosh, we had this lab that blew my mind!' and then I get to be the student, learning from their passion and being drawn into it. It bonds us and gives them meaning, not for that day but for the rest of their lives."
Lawrence saw her team's GPA rise in May 2020, but was cautious to get too excited, knowing that the student-athletes were not in season, and that grading structures had changed once classes got moved online.
But then she saw learning continue to advance throughout the fall, and again into this past spring.
That's what got her even more enthusiastic, seeing the progress her team was making in the midst of a pandemic and in the middle of an adverse season.
"To see the big reward happen in a spring where we're playing a COVID season, we're dealing with a ton of adversity and a ton of stress, and we're still restricted in terms of how we're going to class and how often we're interacting with instructors… We're traveling with masks in a high-stress environment, and our culture showed up stronger than it ever has before, and that is hugely rewarding and the thing I'm most proud of since becoming head coach."
After an abbreviated Spring 2021 season, Montana is gearing up for a traditional schedule this fall, beginning Aug. 28 in Charleston, South Carolina. The Grizzlies will play nine home matches, starting with a non-conference match vs. Seattle on Sept. 1, and season tickets are now on sale.
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