PRINCESS ANNE, Md. — Last season the Hawks volleyball team fostered a return of glory on the court, doubling their win total from a season ago.

The court was not the only place where the team found success. On Monday the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) named the Hawks as one of the teams to receive the organization’s Team Academic Excellence Award.

“This is a great team award and one that truly took every individual team member’s academic contribution into account.” Hawks Coach Toby Rens said. “This really shows the effort that last year’s volleyball team members gave on and off the court”.

Maryland Eastern Shore was one of 132 teams to earn the distinction, but became only one of twenty to earn both the academic award while also meeting their goal in the DigPink campaign. The Hawks and the Bethune-Cookman Wildcats were the two schools that represented the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) on the list of awardees.

Ten student-athletes on the Hawks achieved a cumulative GPA higher than 3.0 at the end of spring term, and nine of them earned marks of 3.0 or high for both semesters in the 2015-16 academic year. These students are putting their good grades towards a variety of majors, ranging from business to education to nutritional science.

With eight returners and five new recruits this fall, the Hawks’ continued strive for excellence is poised to be on the right track.