LEXINGTON, Ky. – The United State Marine Corps and the American Volleyball Coaches Association have announced the list of collegiate and high school teams that have been awarded the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2021-22 season. The Sugar Bears, eclipsing the necessary 3.3 team GPA, earned the award for the fifth time in program history.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, 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. Across men's and women's volleyball, more than 1,200 teams earned the 2021-22 distinction.
 
By earning the nod for 2022, the selection marks the fourth time in the last five seasons, with three in a row, for Central Arkansas. The Sugar Bears posted six semesters during the academic year of a perfect 4.0, nine above a 3.75 and 19 above the floor of 3.3. Eleven of the 12 ASUN schools received the award.
 
The Sugar Bears open their fall with the annual Purple and Gray game on August 18, with the regular season starting at Missouri State on August 26. Central Arkansas will host its first matches of the year with the Central Arkansas Invitational on September 9.