LOGAN, Utah - Utah State volleyball was one of 164 NCAA Division I programs honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award on Monday, the fourth consecutive year that the Aggies have been recognized with the academic accolade. The complete list included teams from the Division I, II and III ranks, two-year colleges and also high schools as a record-total of 973 teams were recognized.

The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point-average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale. The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 20-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but two, while amassing a 619-team increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award's inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 973.

Utah State was one of three programs from the Beehive State on the list, joining Utah Valley and Weber State. The Aggies were also joined on the list by Mountain West schools Colorado State, UNLV, New Mexico and Wyoming with the academic distinction.

The accolade is one of many that the volleyball program received during 2017-18 as 11 members of the team were recognized in the fall with academic all-conference honors from the Mountain West.

"I am really proud of our team's efforts on the court and in the classroom," head coach Grayson DuBose said. "This is our fourth straight year and the sixth time overall we have been honored by the AVCA. Our athletes here at Utah State really embrace representing our team and our university, and they do so in a fantastic manner."

Utah State volleyball will open its 2018 season in a little more than a month when the Aggies travel to Sacramento, Calif., to compete against Sacramento State, Arizona and CS Northridge, Aug. 24-25. USU opens at home, hosting UTRGV, Loyola Marymount and Cal Poly, in the USU Invitational Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, three of 13 matches on Kirby Court at the Wayne Estes Center this upcoming season.

Fans can follow the Aggie volleyball program on Twitter @USUVolleyball, on Facebook at USUVolleyball or on Instagram at @usuvolleyball. Aggie fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at @USUAthletics, on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics or on Instagram at @USUAthletics.

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