ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend women's volleyball team has earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2015-16 season. It is the second year in a row the Lions have received this honor.

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.

Behrend is one of 143 Division III schools recognized by the AVCA. The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients have increased every single year but two, while amassing a 484 team 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 771.