July 26—The Northwestern College volleyball team was recently awarded the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. Northwestern was one of 450 teams nationwide and 75 NCAA Division III institutions to be honored with the accolade.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

Fellow UMAC-member Institutions College of St. Scholastica and Martin Luther College also received the team academic award.

The 2010 Northwestern team will report to campus to begin tryouts and practice on August 18. The Eagles finished last season with a 25-13 overall record and a perfect 14-0 record in the UMAC for the second consecutive season. NWC, who has won three straight UMAC regular season championships, has amassed a 41-1 record in league competition throughout the past three years.