Springfield, Ohio – Wittenberg University’s volleyball team was one of a record 676 high school and college programs to earn a 2013-14 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award.
The award, initiated following the 1992-93 academic year, annually honors men’s and women’s college and high school teams that display excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Wittenberg is one of 126 NCAA Division III programs to earn a Team Academic Award, and the Tigers are one of four North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) squads to make the list in 2013-14.
Ten Tiger student-athletes made the Dean’s List during the spring 2014 semester, including five with a grade point average of 3.9 or better. The team’s cumulative grade point average for the entire 2013-14 school year was a sparkling 3.5.
“This award is a great example of how important work ethic is off the court,” said Wittenberg Head Coach Paco Labrador, who enters his 11th year at the helm with a sparkling 348-55 overall record, good for an .859 winning percentage that ranks second among active college coaches, regardless of division. “I am proud of each of the student-athletes in the program for pushing themselves to be excellent students during the day and hard-working competitors in the evening.”
Recipients of the award include men’s and women’s programs at NCAA Division I, II and III, NAIA, two-year colleges and high schools throughout the country. Wittenberg has been recognized by the AVCA 12 times.
Not only did the Tigers excel on the court in 2013, but they posted a 25-9 overall record en route to NCAC regular season and tournament titles – both for the 19th time in the last 20 years. Wittenberg reached its 19th NCAA Division III Tournament and was ranked in the top 15 nationally throughout the 2013 campaign before bowing out in the Round of 16 to eventual national champion Calvin by a narrow 3-2 margin.
Wittenberg heads into the 2014 season with just one graduation loss, but it’s a big one in 2013 North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Player of the Year Andrea Behling. The Tigers have plenty of talent returning, however, led by two-time All-American right-side hitter Kara Seidenstricker (London, Ohio/Jonathan Alder) and 2013 first-team All-NCAC and honorable mention All-Great Lakes Region honoree Meghan Vodopich (Canton, Ohio/Perry), a two-year starting setter.
Their quest for the ultimate prize – the program’s second national championship – starts in 2014 with Wittenberg’s National Invitational on Friday, Aug. 29, and Saturday, Aug. 30, when the Tigers take on perennial national powers Hope, Johns Hopkins and St. Thomas (Minn.).
Written By: Ryan Maurer