LEXINGTON, Ky.--- The Stan State volleyball team has once again been recognized for its excellence in the classroom, earning the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, sponsored by INTENT.

Celebrating 34 years of academic excellence in volleyball, the AVCA Team Academic Award recognizes collegiate and high school varsity volleyball programs that achieve a minimum cumulative team grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale (or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale) during the academic year. A total of 1,432 collegiate and high school programs earned the honor for the 2025-26 season.

"It comes as no surprise to see our sport have more than 1,400 teams earn the AVCA Team Academic Award again this season," said AVCA CEO Jaime Gordon. "We are grateful for the dedication of the coaches and players who make both classroom and on-court success the lifeblood of their programs."

The honor marks the fourth consecutive AVCA Team Academic Award for the Warriors and the ninth overall in program history since the award was established during the 1992-93 academic year. Stan State was one of five California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) programs to receive the 2026 AVCA Team Academic Award.

Stan State is coached by Lauren Flowers, who has guided the program to each of its last four consecutive AVCA Team Academic Awards.

The AVCA announced Team Academic Champions for each collegiate division for the second consecutive season, recognizing the programs with the highest team GPAs in their respective divisions. The association also honored programs ranking in the top 20 percent of their division with Team Academic Honor Roll distinction. Overall, 10 national championship teams earned the Team Academic Award during the 2025-26 season, while Women's Collegiate Beach and Two-Year College divisions each set records for total recipients.

The AVCA Team Academic Award adds to an outstanding 2025-26 season for the Warriors both on the court and in the classroom. Stan State followed its historic 2024 CCAA Championship season with another strong campaign in 2025, finishing 13-13 overall and 11-7 in conference play. The Warriors posted the second-highest CCAA winning percentage in program history, finished fourth in the conference standings and earned the No. 4 seed in the CCAA Tournament.

The Warriors finished fourth in the CCAA regular-season standings to earn their second consecutive CCAA Tournament berth and the program's third conference tournament appearance in the last four seasons. Stan State also ranked 21st nationally in blocks per set and capped the regular season with back-to-back reverse-sweep road victories over Cal State LA and nationally ranked Cal Poly Pomona.

Individually, Stan State placed five student-athletes on the All-CCAA Team, led by first-team selection Christallynn Tate. Isabella Saucedo earned second-team honors, while Leah Mendoza, Shaelyn Pruiett and Malia Tanksley received honorable mention recognition. Pruiett also was named to the CCAA All-Tournament Team.

Off the court, Emily Meyer and Victoria Plumb earned College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honors, while Teagan Irish was selected as Stan State's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year. Irish also earned the department's Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year honor at the annual STANYS awards banquet. Christallynn Tate was recognized as the department's Female Breakout Athlete of the Year and also received the STANYS Female Breakout Athlete of the Year award. Emily Meyer was inducted into the Stan State chapter of the Chi Alpha Sigma National Student-Athlete Honor Society during the annual STANYS awards banquet.

Seven Warriors were named to the 2025-26 CCAA All-Academic Team: Fallon Freeman, Teagan Irish, Kryslin James, Maggie Olson, Victoria Plumb, Shaelyn Pruiett and Rylee Szyszka.

Nine Warriors earned recognition on the 2025-26 CCAA Fall Academic Honor Roll: Fallon Freeman, Lauren Hamilton, Teagan Irish, Kryslin James, Irene London, Emily Meyer, Maggie Olson, Victoria Plumb and Malia Tanksley.

Nine members of the volleyball program also were named to the Stan State Department of Athletics Fall Honor Roll: Fallon Freeman, Lauren Hamilton, Teagan Irish, Kryslin James, Irene London, Emily Meyer, Maggie Olson, Victoria Plumb and Malia Tanksley.

Ten Warriors were recognized on the Stan State Department of Athletics Spring Honor Roll: Fallon Freeman, Sydney Hoffman, Teagan Irish, Kryslin James, Maggie Olson, Victoria Plumb, Shaelyn Pruiett, Rylee Szyszka, Paige Taylor and Gabriella Valencia.