ATLANTA—The St. Pius X volleyball team was honored for its academic excellence by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for the 2017-18 school year. This marks the fifth year in a row Coach John Frederick’s squad has been recognized, and the eighth time, overall.

The award, which was started in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that maintain at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale or a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale.

The AVCA Team Academic Award is the single largest award offered by quantity of schools, players and coaches honored. Since the 2000-2001 season, the number of recipients has increased every single year but two, while amassing a 621-team increase over the span of the last decade. Since the award’s inception in 1993, the amount of award winners has increased from 62 to its current number of 973.

The Golden Lions have won three straight region titles, while advancing to the state quarterfinals 10 out of the last 11 seasons, with one state championship and four state runners-up finishes.