The Brescia University Bearcats volleyball program capped off their historic 2019-20 season by receiving the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s Team Academic Award.
The Team Academic Award recognizes programs whose student-athletes maintain at least a 3.30 grade-point average over the course of the academic year.
This marks the first time in the program’s history that the Bearcats have won the prestigious AVCA award. The Bearcats led all River States Conference programs with 11 student-athletes named to the RSC Scholar-Athlete team last fall.
The Bearcats earned a team GPA of a 3.575 for the 2019-20 academic year. The spring semester saw 23 of the 24 student-athletes earn a 3.0 GPA or higher. A total of 16 4.0 GPAs were earned over the two semesters, along with a total of 35 Dean’s List honorees during the academic year.
Under first-year head coach John Schmidt III, Brescia recorded a 27-8 overall record, marking the best season in program’s history. The Bearcats earned its first ever RSC championship, winning the regular season with a 15-1 record that included finishing off conference play with a 15-match winning streak. The championship earned the team its second ever berth to the NAIA National Championships, where they lost in the first round to Ottawa University in four sets.
“To say I am proud of our team and each individual student-athlete contributing to this award is an understatement,” Schmidt said. “The student-athletes’ hard work and commitment to the program was well represented this year and I couldn’t be more proud. I’m excited to share this award with our alumni, Brescia faculty and staff and our fans.”
He went on to mention how grateful he is of the academic support that the Brescia community offers.
Schmidt added: “When you put the right priorities first — family and faith first, academics second, then volleyball — great things will happen.”