Women's Volleyball | 7/23/2026 11:00:00 AM

July 23, 2026-For the 15th consecutive year the Emporia State University volleyball team has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association. It is the 22nd time in the last 24 years the Hornets have been honored. The Hornets were also recognized on the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award Honor Roll representing the to 20% of team GPA's in each division.
 
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.
 
During the 2025-26 academic year, Emporia State maintained a 3.67 team GPA. Nine players from the 2025 season on the roster at the end of the spring semester had at least a 3.50 GPA in the spring.
 
Emporia State was one of four MIAA teams to make the 32 member AVCA Team Academic Award Honor Roll for NCAA Division II.  They are joined on the Honor Roll by MIAA members Central Missouri, Northwest Missouri and Pittsburg State.
 
The Hornets are one of 156 NCAA Division II teams to be honored for their academic achievement by the AVCA this year. Emporia State was one of nine MIAA teams to make the grade. The Hornets 22 all-time AVCA Academic Awards and streak of 15 straight years each rank second in the MIAA. Nationally they are ranked sixth in most AVCA Academic Awards and their 15-year active streak ranks 16th in the nation.
  
Emporia State will begin preseason practices on Monday, August 10 and will open the season on Thursday, August 27 when they face off against Minnesota State in the opening match of the Ferris State Invite in Big Rapids, Mich. The Hornets will not play their home opener until Tuesday, September 29 against Pittsburg State. 
 
Emporia State went 21-7 last season with a 12-4 mark in the MIAA.  The Hornets tied for fourth in the Association and were just one game behind a three-way tie for the conference championship.  They spent four weeks in the AVCA National Top 25 and ended the regular season ranked #25 in the coaches poll.  The Hornets were #21 in the final KPI national rankings and were eighth in the last published NCAA Division II Central Regional Poll.
 
MIAA Teams Earning AVCA Team Academic Awards
*Central Missouri
Central Oklahoma
*Emporia State
Fort Hays State
Missouri Southern
Missouri Western
*Northwest Missouri
*Pittsburg State
Washburn
*AVCA Team Academic Award Honor Roll