MONMOUTH, Ill. – Kari Shimmin’s Monmouth College volleyball team has continued a tradition that began in 2009 with its seventh American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) academic team award for excellence in the classroom.
The award for the 2017 season was the second straight for the Fighting Scots and the sixth in seven years. Shimmin’s women had earned inclusion with the nation’s academic elite four straight times from 2011 to 2014.
The award goes to teams which maintain a team GPA of 3.30 or higher throughout the academic year. The Scots boast a diverse group of eight majors among varsity team members, three of which carried double majors.
“I’m extremely proud of our women for maintaining their academic standing with the AVCA,” said Shimmin, whose team features majors such as biopsychology and sociology/anthropology. “Our team last season was comprised of mostly freshmen and transfers. That speaks volumes for their desire and determination to maintain our team’s academic expectations. It’s not easy as newcomers to excel in the classroom while balancing a sport in their very first semester of college. We had tremendous leadership from our returners to help guide our young team through the rigors of balancing athletics and academics. For a young the team such as this to earn the AVCA award with such challenging majors is quite an accomplishment.”
The Scots report to campus Aug. 16 and will open their season at home with their annual Monmouth College Invitational on Sept. 1.
