Kellee Kackman #9

This summer has been a bit quiet here in Bozeman. Instead of returning back to the Land of 10,000 lakes (Minnesota), I decided to stay here in beautiful Bozeman, Montana. Over the summer I had knee surgery to repair a meniscus tear. Now that I am slowly getting back to normal it has been awesome to be able to play again and start building back what I lost. Since the team has been back, we have been really enjoying the sunshine by playing sand, floating the river and checking out local events such as: Musics on main, Crazy Days in Bozeman, Gallatin County Fair and the farmers market. Gotta love summer!! Can't wait for fall camp to start up, ready to get this season rolling! Only a couple of weeks till everything begins!!

GO CATS!!

MSU Volleyball wins Academic Award

2009-2010 AVCA Team Academic Award Release

AVCA Rewrites Another Record With 450 Teams Lauded for Academic Excellence

Total overrides the previous mark of 409 schools set in 2008-09

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 20, 2010) - The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced today that 450 teams have earned the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season. This number once again smashes the previous years' total of 409 and sets a new all-time high for this award.

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 by maintaining 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.

"There is no better way to gauge the success of a sport than to track the accomplishments of the people who participate," said AVCA Executive Director Kathy DeBoer. "Each of these 450 teams represents 12-15 really smart kids. What a great day for the sport of volleyball!"

The Team Academic Award has become one of the AVCA's fastest growing awards programs, seeing an impressive surge in teams honored over the past several years. The program has increased by over 300% in the last 10 years and by 79% in the past three years alone. Both NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II recorded their highest-ever total numbers of recipients, with the former honoring 94 programs and the latter honoring 55 programs. The high school division also set a new bar with its 179 honorees.

Prior to 2009-10, only nine teams had attained the pinnacle of volleyball success in both earning the AVCA Team Academic Award and winning their respective collegiate national championship in the same academic year. This year, the AVCA is proud to recognize four programs -- Concordia University-St. Paul (NCAA Division II), Washington University in St. Louis (NCAA Division III), Clearwater Christian College (NCCAA Division II) and Stanford University (NCAA Division I-II men) - all of whom excelled both in the classroom and on the court. Concordia-St. Paul and Washington-St. Louis had both accomplished this feat once before, ironically both in the same academic year (2007-08).

There were 119 first-time recipients of the AVCA Team Academic Award in 2009-10. NCAA Division I and NCAA Division II each saw 15 new teams achieve the honor, while NCAA Division III welcomed 17 newcomers. Thirteen NAIA teams, two NCCAA teams and two Two-Year Colleges garnered recognition for the first time, while 55 high school teams (51 girls' teams and four boys' teams) received their first AVCA Team Academic nod.

Over 1,000 different schools have earned the award in the program's 18-year history, and over 2,900 awards have been given out in all. Only two institutions, both high schools, have earned the distinction all 18 years: Jonesboro High School (Jonesboro, Arkansas) and Ross S. Sterling High School (Baytown, Texas).


BREAKDOWN BY CLASSIFICATION
Division Number of recipients Percent Breakdown*
NCAA Division I Women 94 34%
NCAA Division II Women 55 27%
NCAA Division III Women 75 21%
NAIA Women 34 18.5%
Two-Year College Women 8 5%
NCCAA Women 2 13%
NCAA Collegiate Men 3 13.6%
High School (Girls and Boys) 179 15.2%
High School Girls 164
High School Boys 15
* Percentage is based on the total number of head coach members in each respective category.


TOTAL RECIPIENT HISTORY
2009-10: 450
2008-09: 409
2007-08: 354
2006-07: 308
2005-06: 287
2004-05: 276
2003-04: 305
2002-03: 205
2001-02: 178
2000-01: 130
1999-2000: 140
1998-99: 149
1997-98: 132
1996-97: 134
1995-96: 116
1994-95: 83
1993-94: 98
1992-93: 62

For more information visit www.avca.org

Jennifer Lundquist #10

This week has been pretty crazy with the camps going on but it’s been great being surrounded by volleyball again. Monday, we started team camps and had a blast helping the teams improve their game play. Not only was playing volleyball fun, but the social events in the dorms were a gas for everyone. Tuesday night was skit night and we asked the teams staying in the dorms to come up with a skit and perform it in front of everyone. They did a good job but I must say the MSU team took it to the max by performing both a peanut butter skit and a hypnotizing skit (videos of these will be posted on the blog). After two and a half days of working on skills, we finished with a tournament. But that’s not all, once team camps ended, individual skills campers arrived and so began that two-and-a-half-day event. Working on blocking, hitting, serving, setting and passing we saw big improvements in the campers. On top of the camps, the MSU team had open gym sessions each evening where we had a blast playing with each other, incomers, and recruits. It felt so good to get back into the swing of things and the recruits/incomers stepped up to the plate. Taylar, Coach Jen and I manned the ‘Cat Store’ and embarked on an expedition to sell our favourite item, the bright blue spandex, and be superior DJs for the campers. We succeeded in selling a couple blue pairs of spandex but the ‘DJ’ing could use some work (according to Shann and Rachelle). Overall, this week was fun and a great learning experience for not only the campers but the MSU players as well. We’re all looking forward to the weekend and getting some rest. Peace out.

Taylar Barney #8

I can't believe how beautiful bozeman is in the summer:) I am back in town getting ready for the fall. I am so excited for everyone to get back in town:) I am in bozeman taking a summer math class:) it is awesome and I can't wait for it to be over!! anyway I'm ready for volleyball to start and for camps. I can't wait to see what other wonders Bozeman, Montana holds... Go BOBCATS!!!!!!!!!!

Chelsea Oemcke #7 checks in

Hey everyone!

Wow, I can't believe it is almost time to head back to Bozeman! I am excited to start the new season and to see everyone! I have had a good time here in San Diego over the past month or so...although I can't say the weather has been idealistic. It has been "May grey" and "June gloom", as they say down here. July and August will get sunnier but I am excited to be back in Bozeman and enjoying the sun, my teammates and the outdoors there.

Well in the meantime, I have been hanging out with my family and friends a lot, doing some art, and also working out continuously. My sister, Rachel, graduated from high school a few weeks ago which has been exciting but emotional at the same time. We held a graduation/going away party for her at our house last night, it was a huge success and a lot of fun!

I have also been volunteering a bit at a homeless shelter in downtown San Diego and it has been a very rewarding experience. The one thing I have learned, along with a lot of other things, is that a smile and a few kind words can go a long way to those who do not receive many that often. I am looking forward to volunteering more and to see everyone back in Bozeman in 2 weeks!


Chelsea #7





A little played out? Sure. But if everyone is going to get a picture associated with their blog an Anchorman reference is going to win every time when it comes to San Diego.

Jodeen Rademacher #5

Hey there everybody...

Wow this summer has flown by!! In saying this I can't wait to get back to Bozeman and see everybody again. Things have been pretty crazy here in Nebraska the last couple weeks. As some of you may know, my family has a farm in Nebraska. Well just yesterday we had the worst hail storm I have ever seen in my life and all of our crops are destroyed. Our corn was about chest high and the hail and wind shredded it off to about a foot off the ground. It has definitely been pretty tough to take all in. I just heard on the news the other day that Billings had a tornado, I couldn't believe it when I heard that. The weather just seems to be all out of whack this year. On a happier note, a bunch of us girls will be back fairly early this summer so we can get a jump start on this fall.

Also over the short time I have been home I have been volunteering out at a place here in Nebraska. I help a lady with maintenance (cleaning and feeding) of her horses. She teaches dressage riding, if anyone knows what that is, and she has agreed to teach me a little about the type of riding that she is so great at. Its very interesting to me and its a challenge which I really enjoy. I don't know if anyone knows that I love horses and riding is one of my favorite past times but I haven't ever had the pleasure of riding dressage, I am used to western.

Well it has been great catching up with everyone again and hope to see a couple of you around this summer!!

Jodeen Rademacher #5



Jo also sent a picture along to show her progress in learning dressage riding:

Macy Merrell #3

Hello! Macy here!

Summer in Utah has been a blast! The weather has been nice, but just about as bipolar as Montana I must say. My Brother and I have been working out together. (He is quite muscley so I am often intimidated, but mostly motivated :) ) Every Monday and Tuesday I play ball with some old teammates which has been super fun!

Although I get in workouts and fun, my summer has been mostly filled with wedding plans. It has been crazy busy trying to get everything together and perfect! Only one more week til the wedding! It has been fun to spend so much time with my mom and sisters! They have been amazing help!

I am super excited to be in Bozeman on the 26th for the Open House and for our California trip and cruise afterwards! I am missing the team and can't wait to be in Boze for good for the camps and a new season! :)


Macy #3


Here is a picture of Macy and her fiance Andrew Page: