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

Aug. 7, 2007
MARIETTA, Ohio — The Marietta College volleyball team has been honored for its exceptional performance in the classroom as a recipient of the 2006-07 Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award.

It marks the second straight year that the Pioneers have received this honor. Marietta was one of just 53 NCAA Division III schools to earn the award for the 2006-07 school year.

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.

"The AVCA is again privileged to present the Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Award to these outstanding institutions," said Kathy DeBoer, AVCA Executive Director. "We congratulate the student-athletes for their hard work in the classroom and thank our coaches for instilling this dedication in the young women and men of our sport."

Over 900 different schools have earned the award in the program's 15-year history, and over 2,500 awards have been given out.

Marietta, led by first-year coach Ray Costa, will once again open the season at home with the River City Tournament on Aug. 31. The team will also compete in tournaments at Defiance on Sept. 7-8 and York, Pennsylvania, on Sept. 21-22. The Pioneers' OAC opener is slated for Sept. 15 at Heidelberg.