Coker College Women’s Volleyball Honored by AVCA

HARTSVILLE, S.C. – The Coker College women's volleyball team was recently honored with the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2011-12 season. The Cobras were part of a record 553 teams that earned the award, up from 481 a year ago.

"I am very proud of my team for earning such an amazing academic honor," said head volleyball coach Todd Caughlin. "These women work hard to represent Coker, and this recognition proves their dedication.

"This award also shows a great commitment from the Coker faculty to push our student-athletes inside the classroom. They hold our players accountable, and they are a huge reason we are able to achieve such an honor."

The award honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that maintained 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 Coker women finished with a 3.36 GPA as a team.

"To hear the exciting news of our women's team receiving the AVCA Team Academic Award came as no surprise," said Joe Flaherty, faculty mentor for women's volleyball and associate professor of biology. "It has been my privilege to serve as an advisor to an already highly disciplined group of student-athletes under the steadfast leadership of coach Caughlin. These astounding young women not only set a high bar for excellence on the court, but they seek to sharply hone their intellectual skills in the classroom. This recognition validates the team's assiduous commitment to academics."

The team roster includes juniors Brittany Bass and April Griggs; sophomores Ashley Craig, Kelly Stine, Taylor Willis, Katie McElveen, Mindy Morris and Hannah Vadakin; and freshmen Samantha Celek, Anna Schwark, Jessica Garrett, Taylor Clay, Jordan Arnsmeyer and Areyonna Keels.

Also making the list from Conference Carolinas was King College.

For more information, contact Chris Dougherty, manager of athletics media relations, at 843-383-8018 or cdougherty@coker.edu.

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Coker College readies undergraduates for personal and professional success through a distinctive four-year program that emphasizes a practical application of the liberal arts as well as hands-on and discussion-based learning within and beyond the classroom. Coker is ranked among the "Best Colleges" in the South by U.S. News & World Report as well as The Princeton Review. Located in Hartsville, S.C., Coker is within two hours of the cultural, financial and recreational resources of Charlotte, Columbia, Charleston and Myrtle Beach.