Volleyball earns Team Academic Award for 2nd consecutive year
7/18/2022 11:28:00 AM | Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. – What was once an afterthought for the Montana volleyball team is now becoming a staple. For the second consecutive season the Grizzlies were awarded 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.
This is the seventh time Montana has earned recognition since the award was created in 1992, and the second in a row after going six consecutive years of falling below the threshold.
The volleyball team had the department's lowest cumulative GPA in 2017 and for several semesters thereafter. Over the past four semesters, however, volleyball has had one of the highest in the department, earning a 3.62 during the 2021-22 academic year.
Even more impressive, volleyball student-athletes averaged the most credits in the department (16.3) with 17 of its 18 student-athletes earning a 3.1 or higher during the spring semester. Fourteen student-athletes obtained a 3.5 or better with four earning a perfect 4.0.
Earlier this spring, 10 Griz student-athletes were awarded Academic All-Big Sky status, tying a program record, also set in 2021. To put that number in comparison, from 2017-19, Montana had eight total honorees over three years.
"When we took over the program, our academic situation was one of the first things we wanted to address," head coach Allison Lawrence said in 2021. "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.
"To see it and witness it from the inside makes it even more special. 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."
This is the seventh time Montana has earned recognition since the award was created in 1992, and the second in a row after going six consecutive years of falling below the threshold.
The volleyball team had the department's lowest cumulative GPA in 2017 and for several semesters thereafter. Over the past four semesters, however, volleyball has had one of the highest in the department, earning a 3.62 during the 2021-22 academic year.
Even more impressive, volleyball student-athletes averaged the most credits in the department (16.3) with 17 of its 18 student-athletes earning a 3.1 or higher during the spring semester. Fourteen student-athletes obtained a 3.5 or better with four earning a perfect 4.0.
Earlier this spring, 10 Griz student-athletes were awarded Academic All-Big Sky status, tying a program record, also set in 2021. To put that number in comparison, from 2017-19, Montana had eight total honorees over three years.
"When we took over the program, our academic situation was one of the first things we wanted to address," head coach Allison Lawrence said in 2021. "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.
"To see it and witness it from the inside makes it even more special. 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."
National Girls and Women in Sports Day 2026
Monday, March 30
Student-Athlete Spotlight: Maddie Pyles (Griz Volleyball)
Thursday, January 15
Griz Volleyball: Name The Person
Tuesday, December 30
Griz Volleyball: Name The Object
Tuesday, December 30
