Cowley volleyball earns AVCA Team Academic Award for fifth straight season
The Cowley College volleyball team has earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award for the fifth consecutive season, marking the program’s 11th overall honor and seventh under head coach Steven Gream.
The award, created for the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school varsity volleyball teams that maintain a minimum team GPA of 3.30 across the academic year. Cowley was one of six teams from the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference and one of 43 NJCAA teams recognized this season.
The Lady Tigers were also named to the AVCA Team Academic Honor Roll for the second consecutive year. The Honor Roll recognizes programs that rank in the top 20 percent of GPAs in their division, and this marks the second time Cowley has received the distinction during Gream's tenure.
"We are thankful to the AVCA for recognizing our student-athletes' success in the classroom this year," Gream said. "Our goal each season is to earn the Team Academic Award, and being named to the Team Academic Honor Roll shows this team's drive to succeed on the court and in the classroom. These honors take a whole-team effort, with each student-athlete putting in the work academically while balancing volleyball season and training. We are proud of our team and their efforts to receive these honors."
More than 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball programs were recognized by the AVCA for classroom excellence during the recently completed academic year.
"It comes as no surprise to see our sport have more than 1,400 teams earn the AVCA Team Academic Award again this season," AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon said. "We are grateful for the dedication of the coaches and players who make both classroom and on-court success the lifeblood of their programs."
The Lady Tigers finished 32-7 last season and advanced to the NJCAA Final Four. Cowley will open the 2026 season at home on August 21 in W.S. Scott Auditorium.