Marietta College volleyball earns Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award
Pioneers receive national honor for third straight year

July 31, 2008
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball team has once again been honored for its exceptional performance in the classroom as a recipient of the 2007-08 Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award.

It marks the third straight year that the Pioneers have received this honor. Marietta was one of 62 NCAA Division III schools to earn the award for the 2007-08 school year. In total, 212 collegiate programs met the requirements for the award in 2007-08.

The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Nominating head coaches must be AVCA members. Each school receives a plaque and each player a certificate commemorating the designation.

"This result is just phenomenal!" said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Look at this in context: We have coaches representing about 3,000 different academic institutions. Of that total, 353, or nearly12%, coach teams with a grade point average of 3.3 or better! How can you not be proud of that?"

Over 900 different schools have earned the award in the program's 15-year history, and over 2,800 awards have been given out.

Marietta, led by second-year coach Ray Costa, returns nine players, including five letterwinners and four seniors, from its squad that finished 12-15 and eighth in the OAC a year ago. The Pioneers will once again open the season at home with the River City Tournament on August 29. Marietta’s OAC opener is slated for September 27 against Heidelberg.