St. Mary's University of Minnesota - Cardinals earn AVCA Team Academic honor

Cardinals earn AVCA Team Academic honor

Donny Nadeau, SMU Sports Information Office

WINONA, Minn. — The Saint Mary's University volleyball team found itself in some elite company, as the Cardinals were among just four Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schools to earn the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season.

SMU, which earned a berth in the NCAA Division III Regional Tournament last fall, joins Bethel, Carleton and Saint Benedict from the MIAC as recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award.

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 or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

The 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. The program — which honored a record-setting 450 teams this season — has increased by over 300 percent in the last 10 years and by 79 percent in the past three years alone.

Complete AVCA Team Academic Award List

7/30/2010 9:05:59 AM

Sep. 10, 2010

Coach Lester previews VB at Wartburg Invite

Sep. 3, 2010

VB Highlights vs. St. Scholastica

Aug. 31, 2010

Coach Lester previews VB season

Aug

September 2010

Oct

Fri, Sep. 10, 2010

Volleyball
vs Maryville University
5 p.m.

Volleyball
vs Nebraska Wesleyan University
7 p.m.

Athletes of the Week

Sarah Gardner

Volleyball

Gardner collected her 1,000th career kill during the Cardinals' season-opening match against Viterbo on Sept. 1. The senior rightside also earned Sugar Loaf Classic Co-MVP honors after posting a team-best 52 kills (3.71 kps) to help SMU record a perfect 4-0 record at the eight-team tournament.

Steve Boussie

Men's Soccer

Boussie had a hand in all three goals in the Cardinal men's soccer team's season-opening 3-0 win over Marian on Sept. 1. Boussie, who led the team in goals and points a year ago, scored once and assisted on two others in the Cardinals' seson-opening win.

Did You Know...

Juamaine Venter (Rochester, Minn.) recorded the first two-goal game of his career vs. Crown on Tuesday, Sept. 7. After scoring just two goals in his first two seasons with the Cardinals combined, Venter has already netted three goals in four games this season.