SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Five Southern Conference schools received the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, announced by the organization on Monday.

The Citadel, East Tennessee State, Furman, Mercer and Chattanooga were among the 134 Division I Women’s teams to earn the award. Furman was the SoCon regular season runner-up in 2013 while East Tennessee State won the Atlantic Sun regular season championship in their final season before returning to the Southern Conference.

The award, which was initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors collegiate and high school volleyball teams that displayed excellence in the classroom during the school year. Teams must have maintained 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.