Southwest volleyball players earn national award for academic excellence

Southwest High School volleyball players soared into prestigious academic heights this past school year with top-flight efforts in the classroom.
 
The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced that the Silver Hawks earned the AVCA Team Academic Award. Collegiate and high school volleyball programs had to maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale for the entire 2023-24 academic year. All 15 Southwest varsity players were included in the overall GPA.
 
Southwest head coach Jessica Kirkendall said she was impressed with the team’s work ethic both on and off the court. The Silver Hawks claimed the school’s first state volleyball championship last fall after winning all three Class A matches. She applied for the AVCA honor knowing that players had the same amount of classroom talent.
 
“The word student comes before athletes for a reason,” Kirkendall said. “It’s an expectation that our athletes are competing in their academics just as they would on the court. This is not always an easy task throughout the season due to practices after school, evening matches and weekend practices or tournaments.
 
“However, this group of girls handled it very well and finished the year with a cumulative GPA of 3.8108. That is a huge team accomplishment where not just the athletes who got time on the court contributed, but all 15 girls helped our team achieve such an award.”
 
Southwest Activities Director Andrew Sherman said the award spoke volumes about the team’s positive mindset. Many Silver Hawks took advanced placement (AP) classes during the school year. They also maintained spots on Southwest’s honor roll, were National Honor Society members, won academic-based contests and were involved in many school and community activities.
 
“The 23-24 Lincoln Southwest volleyball team gave our community a lot to cheer about,” Sherman said. “This team’s success on the court (state champions) and in the classroom (AVCA Team Academic Award) is unparalleled. Our team was filled with high-character, hardworking kids who loved to compete, making it easy to support them. Our coaching staff did an amazing job balancing accountability and making the season fun.”
 
The AVCA has sponsored the program since 1992 to celebrate the academic credentials of players across the country. AVCA Chief Executive Officer Jaime Gordon said it was inspiring to watch teams like Southwest achieve top marks in their studies.
 
“This is a great example of how committed our coaches are when it comes to helping their players reach their full potential as both students and athletes,” Gordon said.
 
The high school girls division had the most award recipients this year, with 508 teams earning national recognition. The two-year college women, college men, collegiate beach, high school beach and high school boys divisions also broke records for total recipients.
 
Head coaches had to be active members of both the AVCA and Nebraska Coaches Association (NCA) to nominate their teams for the award. They had to submit applications to the AVCA by July 2.
 
The Silver Hawks also earned the NCA Jean Groth Volleyball Team Academic Excellence Award. The state award had the same criteria as the AVCA honor. NCA officials honored the Silver Hawks at the NCA Multi-Sports Clinic in late July.

 
Kirkendall said Southwest players had many positive qualities that helped them be successful in all of their pursuits. Teammates helped each other with homework on bus rides, provided encouragement in between class periods and became mentors to younger students in the program.
 
“This team had a ton of passion for the game,” Kirkendall said. “They knew that in order to be able to play the game they love, they needed to work hard in their classes as well. In addition, these girls were not just teammates, they were best friends. When you are playing with the people you love, you work hard for those other girls.”
 
Sherman said it was important to highlight the team’s academic achievements. In addition to setting solid foundations for their own futures, Southwest players also became shining examples for hundreds of LPS students.
 
“Celebrating the hard work of our student-athletes in the classroom is crucial to education-based athletics,” Sherman said. “Success on the court does not happen without first having some success in the classroom. This award is a great reminder of that. Lincoln Southwest is extremely proud of our volleyball team’s success.”
 
Kirkendall said everyone in the program helped the Silver Hawks fly into prestigious heights in both academics and athletics this year.
 
“We had accountability, hard work ethic, common goals, genuine friendship and trust within our team,” Kirkendall said. “That helped lead us to our first-ever state championship at LSW and this AVCA Team Academic Award.”
 
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