LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of South Carolina Aiken volleyball team was one of 1,313 teams honored by the AVCA with the Team Academic Award for the 2017-18 academic year.

This marks the seventh time the program has picked up the honor.

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. 

In terms of USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award winners by subgroup, girls high school led the way with 461 recipients. In all three NCAA Women's Divisions, over 50% of the membership won the award, led by 68% in DI, 57% in DII and 53% in DIII. In the emerging sport of beach volleyball, 49% of teams won the award and in the fastest growing sector of Collegiate Men, 38 schools were honored, doubling the number from the previous year. 

Head coach Glenn Cox's team was impressive on the court in 2019. The team reached the NCAA Tournament for the sixth consecutive season and clinched a share of the PBC regular-season championship. It marked the fourth time in five seasons the Pacers clinched at least a share of the regular-season title.