COLUMBIA, S.C. – The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced its annual Team Academic Award recipients Monday afternoon. South Carolina was one of only 46 Division I beach programs to be recognized and the indoor program ran its streak to 14 years in a row on the list.
Beach volleyball stands as one of only three programs in the country to own a streak of nine seasons in a row making the list, joining Georgia State and Stanford. The Gamecocks are also one of just 11 Division I beach programs to be part of the Honor Roll, given to teams in the top 20 percent for team GPA in each division. The team is part of an exclusive group with academic and on-court success, as it is one of four beach volleyball programs to be in the honor roll while also being ranked in the top 20 of the final AVCA coaches poll of the 2023 season. Individually, every member of the team made either the SEC’s Spring or First-Year Honor Rolls and four Gamecocks made the Coastal Collegiate Sports Association’s All-Academic team.
The indoor volleyball program improved its streak to 14 seasons in a row earning the team academic award. The Gamecocks had a program-record 16 individuals make the SEC’s academic honor roll in the fall and four others on the conference’s first-year honor roll. On the court, Carolina and graduate student Jenna Hampton earned the SEC’s Libero of the Year Award. Hampton, who also made the SEC’s First-Year Academic Honor Roll, is the first Gamecock to earn the award from the conference’s coaches since the team joined the SEC in 1991 and just the third student-athlete to have earned an individual award in that span. Hampton also made the 18-woman All-SEC team, marking the sixth season in a row for a Gamecock to be recognized on the postseason list but the first time a libero represented the program.
The AVCA’s academic award recognizes college and high school volleyball teams that maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale. For the 2022-23 academic year, the AVCA recognized a record 1,332 teams.