LEXINGTON, Ky. – The 2021 Southwest Minnesota State University volleyball team has received the United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2021-22 academic year.
 
The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale.
 
It's the 15th consecutive season SMSU has earned the award. The Mustangs had four student-athletes earn Academic All-NSIC honors in 2021, with senior Angela Young earning CoSIDA first team Academic All-District for the third straight year and CoSIDA second team Academic All-America.
 
"Academic achievement does not happen by accident," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "I'm so proud of the hundreds of coaching staffs that make excellence in the classroom a priority."
 
Southwest Minnesota State finished the 2021 season with a record of 21-8. The 2022 season will get underway with practice in early August before opening the season in Golden, Colo., for the Colorado School of Mines Classic.