July 27, 2010
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The University of New Mexico volleyball team recently received the 2009-10 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award. The Lobos, under the direction of head coach Jeff Nelson, were one of 94 NCAA Division I women’s teams to receive the award for the 2009-10 academic year.
The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade point average (GPA). This is the fifth consecutive year the Lobos have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award.
“I’d like to congratulate my team on such a great year in the classroom,” said Nelson. “We had 13 young women above a 3.0 GPA this season. That is something to be really proud of and keep working hard on, especially since we spend so much time on the road at the start of the school year.”
During 2009-10, the Lobo volleyball team recorded its second-highest GPA of 3.51 in the Fall 2009 semester. The team has recorded a 3.06 or higher GPA for 16 consecutive semesters, including a 3.48 in the Spring 2010 semester.
New Mexico boasted nine student-athletes on the Fall 2009 Academic All-Mountain West Conference Team, Jade Michaelsen, Allie Suiter, Kelly Williamson, Amy Wong, Lisa Meeter, Allison Buck, Rose Morris, Ashley Rhoades and Jordan Russell. Michaelsen, Suiter, Meeter, Russell, Wong and Williamson, along with Rachel Barber, were honored with the 2009-10 MWC Scholar-Athlete Award by maintaining a 3.5 GPA or better in two academic terms.