ERIE, Pa. – The Penn State Behrend men's and women's volleyball teams have earned the United State Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2019-2020 season. 

The women received the honor for the fifth time in program history, while the men garnered the accolades for the first time. The Behrend Lions captured their fifth AMCC Championship this fall and advance to the NCAA Tournament, finishing the season 19-11. The men recorded an 11-6 mark, riding a three-match winning streak before the season came to a halt due to the pandemic. 

The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale. The women were among 231 Division III teams and the men were included with 37 other schools, double the number for collegiate men from the previous year.