LEXINGTON, Ky. – For the second time in program history, Academy of Art University volleyball has received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2015-2016 season.

"We are very proud of the effort and hard work our student-athletes put into the classroom this year," said head coach Ray Batalon. "To us, this award is a direct reflection of our student-athletes' commitment to their academics as well as volleyball."

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.

ART U, who claimed the award in 2013-14 previously, posted a 3.337 cumulative GPA in 2015-16, earning them the distinguished honor of being one of just five squads from the Pacific West Conference. Additionally, Academy of Art was one of 10 institutions from the NCAA Division II West Region to receive the honor.

This year, a total of 11 Urban Knights delivered individual cumulative GPAs above 3.00 and were awarded Academic All-PacWest for their efforts.

Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 22-year history, with exactly 7,642 awards been given out in total.