Breathitt Volleyball Team honored for academic excellence
LEXINGTON, Ky. – July 21, 2020
The United State Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that 1,313 teams, including the Breathitt High School Volleyball Team, have earned the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2019-2020 season.
“We are very proud of the accomplish of our team on the court but, most importantly, I am very proud of their hard work in the classroom,” BHS Head Coach Stephen D. Bowling said on Tuesday. “The life lessons learned on the court and in the classroom will help our player grow into strong women and empowered leaders.”
Bowling and his staff lead the 2019-2020 BHS Volleyball program to their first 55th District Championship and the school’s second 14th Region Volleyball Championship with a record of 26 wins and 10 losses. “Coaches have the most influence during times of difficulty,” said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. “Keeping student-athletes focused on their academic success when their volleyball identity was suddenly gone with the virus is leadership worth celebrating during this pandemic!”
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. The number of schools recognized for their achievements topping last year’s record by almost 200 teams including 232 programs received Team Academic honors for the first time in 2020. Breathitt County High School Volleyball also achieved academic recognition from the AVCA in 2019.
Leslie County was the only other 14th Region team to qualify and be awarded the academic recognition for the 2019-2020 season. To date, only three 14th Region teams have achieved this honor since the program started in 1992. “We look forward to more success in the coming years on the court and in the individual lives of our team members,” Bowling said. “We could not be prouder of their hard work.”
