MACOMB, Ill - Western Illinois University's volleyball team earns the distinct honor of achieving the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Honor. The Leathernecks posted a 3.62 GPA this past spring semester and a 3.624 in the fall semester.

Western Illinois Volleyball earns its fifth straight AVCA honor and the 13th since 2006.

"I am very proud of the work members of our team put into their academics," Western Illinois University volleyball coach Dale Starr said. "They are all very diligent about their classes and understand the importance of being a "student-athlete". We will continue to raise the bar for this program both on and off the court. It's a great day to be a Leatherneck!"

Volleyball programs from across the country continue to prove their dominance off the court as 1,450 collegiate and high school volleyball teams maintained a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale), to earn the 2025 AVCA Team Academic Award.

"It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom," says AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "The fact that more programs earned the Team Academic Award than ever before is evidence of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their goals as both students and athletes."

Western Illinois is set to open its 2025 campaign with an exhibition match inside Western Hall on August 23.