LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) has released the recipients for the 2026 AVCA Team Academic Awards, and for the 23^rd consecutive year, the Jens are being recognized for their outstanding work in the classroom.
 
To qualify for the Academic Honor Roll award, teams must maintain a minimum GPA of 3.30 on a 4.0 grading scale throughout the academic year and have a team GPA in the top 20 percent of their division.
 
Jennies volleyball accounted for 14 of UCM's 81 fall sport student-athletes to receive MIAA Academic Honor Roll accolades, including five Newcomer Academic Honor Roll selections and one Academic Excellence recipient.
 
Central Missouri leads the MIAA conference with the most consecutive AVCA team academic awards at 23, while four other schools have streaks of 12 or more, including Central Oklahoma, Northwest Missouri, Fort Hays State, and Missouri Southern.    
 
A season ago, the Jens went 20-8 overall and 11-5 in MIAA play, while six players earned All-MIAA accolades, including three First Team nods, one Second Team recipient, and two Honorable Mention selections.
 
Central Missouri begins the 2026 campaign on Thursday, August 27, as they take on the Barry Buccaneers at 3:30 p.m. (CST) in the opening match of the Sand Hoffman Memorial Tournament inside the Dana Center on the campus of Bentley University in Waltham, Mass.