Wildcats Recognized With AVCA Team Academic Award

ABILENE – Abilene Christian volleyball was honored for its success in the classroom with the American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT, the organization announced on Monday. It marks the 15th time the Wildcats have received the accolade, dating back to 2008.

The AVCA Team Academic Award is presented to college and high school volleyball programs across the nation for maintaining a year-long grade point average of at least 3.3. For the 2024-25 school year, 1,450 teams were honored for their players’ academic success.

“Our program verse is Colossians 3:23: ‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord and not for man,'” head coach Ijeoma Moronu Alstrup said. “Our girls were able to exemplify that by the work that they put into the classroom, and I could not be more proud of each team member’s individual efforts to accomplish this award.”

ACU has collected the AVCA Team Academic Award in all but two of the past 17 seasons and has twice been named to the Team Academic Honor Roll for placing in the top 20% of GPAs for its division. 

“It is very exciting to see that the record-setting, on-court successes during the 2024-25 season have extended to the classroom,” AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon said. “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.”

The Wildcats saw 13 student-athletes earn Academic All-Western Athletic Conference recognition this past school year for holding at least a 3.2 GPA and competing in a minimum of 50% of team contests. ACU led the conference in Academic All-WAC recipients, and eight such honorees return for the 2025 campaign.

Four Wildcats went on to garner Academic All-District distinction from College Sports Communicators, including returners Hannah Gonzalez, an accounting major, and Alexis Strong, studying government. They met the criteria of holding at least a 3.50 GPA and competing in 90% of team matches or starting in at least 66% of matches.

ACU kicks off its third season under Moronu Alstrup with the Wildcat Classic at Moody Coliseum on Aug. 29-30, facing the likes of Missouri State, Incarnate Word and Oklahoma. The Wildcats will play 11 regular season matches at home, including six WAC contests, before hosting the conference tournament on Nov. 20-22.

ACU will prepare for the regular season with the Purple and White Scrimmage on Aug. 15 at Moody Coliseum before meeting Angelo State in an exhibition match on Aug. 23 at the Dodge Jones Youth Sports Center (AYSA).