MSU Earns USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award

East Lansing, Mich. - The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) have announced that Michigan State Volleyball is among the that 1,313 teams have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2019-2020 season.

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.

The Spartans owned a 3.47 grade-point average in the 2019-20 academic year, with two athletes (Samantha McLean and Lauren Swartz) owning perfect 4.0 grade-point averages. Five Spartans – McLean, Swartz, Maggie Midgette, Meredith Norris and Elena Shklyar – all earned Big Ten Distinguished Scholar honors by posting a 3.7 combined GPA over those two semesters.

Additionally, schools that reached their Dig Pink® fundraising goals through the Side-Out Foundation will continue to be honored. Dig Pink® is a nationwide movement to provide meaningful and impactful experiences for athletes while inspiring and empowering them to come together in support of the stage IV breast cancer community. Each year, hundreds of teams across the country (and some overseas) participate in the Dig Pink® Rally. MSU held its Dig Pink event at its home match vs. Wisconsin last season. In the weeks leading up to the event, the program held a silent auction for the pink jerseys the Spartans would wear against the Badgers, and the winning bidder had the opportunity to put a name on the back of the jersey that honored someone fighting cancer.

Players Mentioned

Samantha McLean

Maggie Midgette

Meredith Norris

Elena Shklyar

Lauren Swartz

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