LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 17, 2024) – The American Volleyball Coaches Association announced the recipients of their Team Academic Award sponsored by INTENT on Wednesday with North Alabama Beach Volleyball honored for the second year in a row.

The Lions also received an additional honor with the Team Academic Honor Roll Award, which indicates that the team finished in the top 20 percent of team GPAs in NCAA Division I.

"I'm so proud of our team dedication to excellence in the classroom," said UNA Beach Volleyball Head Coach Kaleb VanDePerre. "Each and every student athlete puts in a tremendous amount of work to compete with the best academically. We strive to be the best versions of ourselves, and although we don't do it for awards, it's an honor we don't take lightly and are appreciative of the recognition. We are blessed to represent UNA and help shine light on the great place it is."

The awards tally continues to climb for UNA Beach Volleyball, marking the team's 18th and 19th of the 2023-24 academic year and eighth this summer. The distinction also earns the Lions their third overall award from the AVCA after receiving the honor in 2020 and 2023.

Initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, the AVCA Team Academic Award honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale.

The Lions were part of a record number of volleyball programs to have earned the academic team distinction. More than 1,400 collegiate and high school volleyball programs qualified for the honor, one which included North Alabama's indoor volleyball team.

UNA was also one of six teams from the Atlantic Sun Conference, as Austin Peay, Central Arkansas, EKU, FGCU and Stetson all received team academic honors from the AVCA.

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