By Heather Johnson - Area Public Information Specialist
Members of the 2020-21 North Platte Community College volleyball team have been recognized for their efforts in the classroom by three national organizations.
The Knights received a United States Marine Corps (USMC) and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the 2020-21 season.
The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.
Additionally, the top 20 percent of team GPAs from each division are designated as Team Academic Honor Roll schools, representing the highest scholarly achievement in the sport.
NPCC also made that list. It was one of only six two-year schools, and the only one from Nebraska, to receive the honor.
“In this uncertain time, leadership matters,” the NPCC award letter reads. “While some programs lost their ability to compete [last] season, volleyball coaches continued to demonstrate their important role supporting players’ academic achievements. [NPCC Head Volleyball Coach Alexa McCall] was a critical anchor for players adjusting to a changing school experience. Alexa did not win this award, the team did, but the encouragement to stay focused on academics means this accomplishment was not happenstance.”
Full lists of 2020-21 USMC/AVCA Team Academic recipients and those who made the Team Academic Honor Roll can be found at this link: https://spark.adobe.com/page/RNGX2JXZ1MAvB/.
The NPCC volleyball team’s GPA of 3.64 also earned it a spot on the National Junior College Athletic Association’s list of Volleyball Academic Teams of the Year.
In addition, multiple NPCC volleyball players were recognized individually for their dedication to academics.
Avery Johnson, of Hayes Center, and Sarah Wamsley, of Sidney, both had 4.0 GPAs, qualifying them for NJCAA’s All-Academic First Team.
Katy Bartell, of Eustis; Tania Morales, of Yuma, Colo.; Allie Schneider, of Humphrey; Ruby Valle, of Weldona, Colo.; Erica Hopping, of Sutherland, and Taylor Hansen, of Yuma, Colo., made the All-Academic Second Team with GPAs falling in a range of 3.80-3.99.
Representing NPCC on the All-Academic Third Team with a GPA of 3.60-3.79 was Peyton Negley, of North Platte.
“I am really proud of how the girls performed in the classroom, especially second semester where we were challenged with covid and a different season that we were playing in,” McCall said. “The girls take a lot of pride in excelling in the classroom and continue to pass that on to incoming teammates.”
A full list of the NJCAA All-Academic Teams can be found at: https://www.njcaa.org/awards/academic_student-athlete.