LEXINGTON, KY.-- The American Volleyball Coaches Association has recognized the Trine volleyball team for their hard work in the classroom, as the Thunder earned a Team Academic Award from the association.

The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the 2013-14 school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team GPA on a 4.0 scale, or at least a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. This is the second-consecutive year the Trine volleyball team has earned the distinction. Thunder varsity letterwinners earned a cumulative GPA of 3.477, while the team as a whole worked their way to a 3.35 GPA. Seven members of the team were named to the MIAA Honor Roll. The AVCA honored a record 676 schools across the collegiate and high school ranks with the Team Academic honor.

Trine was one of 126 NCAA Division III schools to receive the Team Academic award. That puts the Thunder in the top 30 percent of all Division III volleyball teams (422 total) academically.

"Too often athletic participation is associated with academic underachievement and this stereotype is simply false when it comes to volleyball," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Couple the smarts represented by these teams with the competitive experience and team-focused training gained on the court and we have a potent formula for future leadership! What a significant contribution that is by their coaches and schools."

Trine is coming off a season in which the Thunder finished 16-15, the third-consecutive season the Thunder have finished .500 or better. TU finished tied for third in the MIAA with an 8-8 conference mark. Setter Carly Searles was named Second-Team All-MIAA.

The Thunder open the 2014 season Friday, Aug. 29 at the HCAC/MIAA Crossover, hosted by Manchester University. The team will face Rose-Hulman and Anderson (Ind.) on the opening day of the season.

The home-opener is set for Friday, Sep. 5 against MIAA-foe and defending-National Champion, Calvin. First serve of the home-opener is set for 6:00 p.m.