The Wayne State College volleyball team has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT for an NCAA Division record-leading 22nd straight year announced last Tuesday morning by the coaches’ association office in Lexington, Kentucky.
WSC also was recognized with the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll Award for being in the top 20 percent in NCAA Division II with a 3.648 grade point average.
More than 1,400 collegiate and high school volleyball teams maintained a year-long grade point average of 3.3 on a scale of 4.0 earned the award for their classroom excellence during the recently completed 2023-24 academic year.
Nine players from this year’s team were named to the NSIC All-Academic Team with six of those athletes – Taya Beller, Ally Beresford, Kelsie Cada, Hayvn Heinz, Jordan McCormick and Rachel Walker – receiving the NSIC Myles Brand All-Academic With Distinction Award. Beller was later named College Sports Communicators Academic All-American First Team while McCormick and Walker both collected Second Team honors.
McCormick was also named the NSIC Elite 18 and NCAA Elite 90 Award as the top scholar athlete at a conference and national championship event.
Wayne State closed the 2023 season with a 31-3 record while winning a second straight Northern Sun Conference regular season title with a perfect 18-0 league mark.
The Wildcats later captured a second NCAA Central Region title and advanced to the NCAA Elite 8 in Moon Township, Pa., ending the year ranked fourth in the final AVCA/TARAFLEX Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll.
