EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville volleyball team was honored by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for their academic success, as the Purple Aces received the AVCA Team Academic Award for the ninth time in the last 10 years.
 
As a team, Evansville combined for a 3.491 cumulative grade-point average (GPA) last season and was one of 131 NCAA Division I teams to receive the Team Academic Award, an award that is presented to a team that has maintained at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative GPA on a 5.0 scale.
 
Ten Aces posted a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or higher, including four that surpassed the 3.5 GPA mark.  Rachel TenHoor led UE academically with a 3.918 cumulative GPA and a perfect 4.0 during the 2012-13 academic year.  Ashley Ring posted a 3.853 cumulative GPA and a 3.742 mark in 2012-13, while Lauren Seyller lifted her cumulative GPA to a 3.835 with a 3.874 mark during the 2012-13 year.
 
The Team Academic Award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, was awarded to a record 623 teams during the 2012-13 season, breaking the previous record of 536 that was set a year ago.

The AVCA Team Academic Award has become one of the AVCA's fastest growing awards programs, seeing an impressive surge in teams honored over the past several years. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but one, while amassing an overall 300% increase over the span of the last decade.  Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 623.

NCAA Division I recorded their highest-ever total number of recipients, honoring 130 programs while Division II surpassed last year's record of 69 winners with 77 this year.  Division III also set a new record with 93 winners and the high school division increased their all-time high of 220 recipients to 253.  Finally, the NAIA set a new record with 46 winners garnering the award.