University of Northern Iowa Athletics
Panther volleyball recognized with AVCA Team Academic Award for 15th consecutive year
7/23/2026 12:01:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
LEXINGTON, Ky. --- For a 15th consecutive year, the UNI volleyball team has been named a recipient of the American Volleyball Coaches Association's (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2025-26 school year, as announced on Thursday.
"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."
UNI has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award 17 times under head coach Bobbi Petersen, finishing the previous academic year with a 3.77 cumulative GPA, the highest mark among all UNI Athletic programs. Academically, Northern Iowa's 2025 roster featured four Missouri Valley Conference (MVC) Scholar-Athlete Team selections, as well as four College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District honorees, led by Second Team Academic All-American Cassidy Hartman.
The award, first handed out during the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball programs at both the collegiate and high school level that maintain a year-long grade-point average of 3.30 on a 4.00 scale. More than 1,432 collegiate and high school programs were recognized for this past school year.
The Panthers are scheduled to open the 2026 season on Aug. 28 when they take on Georgia Tech at 4 p.m. CT in the opening match of the Cyclone Invitational in Ames. Season and single-match tickets can be purchased through the UNI Ticket Office or by calling 319-273-4849.Â
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UNI volleyball action can be followed all season long on social media on Facebook (UNI Volleyball), X (@UNIVolleyball) and on Instagram (@univolleyball). The full 2026 schedule and roster, along with the latest Panther news and information can be found online at UNIpanthers.com.
