Wheeling, W. Va. - On Monday, the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) honored some of the top high school and college programs across the country with the release of their AVCA Team Academic Award. The Wheeling University Volleyball team continued their tradition of academic success not only on the court, but in the classroom in 2025, taking home the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 10th straight season. Along with the team honor, the Cardinals also earned a spot on the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll, representing the top 20% of GPAs nationally by division
"It is a great honor to once again be honored with the AVCA Team Academic Award this season," said Wheeling University Head Volleyball Coach Christy Benner. "We stress every day that winning starts in the classroom, and I am so proud of our young women for continuing that tradition of Academic Success."
To earn the AVCA Team Academic Award, high school and collegiate volleyball teams must maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, or a 4.1 on a 5.0 scale. Teams that have received the award for 15 or more years are highlighted on the list of honorees for their consistent commitment to academics. The Cardinals posted a team GPA of 3.785 during the 2024-2025 academic year, ranking them among the top 20% of GPAs Nationally across NCAA DII. This year, the AVCA recognized 1,450 collegiate and high school programs across the country, setting a new record for the amount of programs to receive the honor.
"It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court success during the 2024-2025 season have extended to the classroom," said AVCA CEO Jamie Gordon. "The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes."
On the court, it was another successful year for the Cardinals, who finished 27-11 overall and 12-2 in Mountain East Conference (MEC) play. After dropping their MEC opener to West Virginia State, Wheeling would go on to win 11 of their final 12 regular season conference matches to earn the MEC North Division Title. They picked up a pair of 3-0 sweeps over West Virginia Wesleyan and the University of Charleston to start the MEC Tournament, before falling in the MEC Championship match to West Virginia State 3-1. However, they went right back on a run in the NCAA DII Atlantic Regional Championship, beating Pitt-Johnstown 3-1 and IUP 3-2 to head to the Championship match. They would battle Gannon and, after taking the first set, fell to the Golden Knights 3-1 to bring their season to an end.
The Cardinals were one of three MEC programs to be honored with the AVCA Team Academic Award, joining conference rivals Fairmont State and West Liberty University, and were one of 156 NCAA DII schools to b recognized. The Wheeling Volleyball program has won the AVCA Team Academic Award every season since the 2014-2015 campaign, and won the award for the first time under Benner's coaching tenure.
The Wheeling University Volleyball team will kick-off the 2025 season on Thursday, September 4th, when they take on Northern Michigan University in their first match in the West Florida Invitational.
