ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Griffon Volleyball earned the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for its success in the classroom during the 2025-26 academic year.
The Griffons received the honor after posting a year-long team GPA of at least 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, meeting the criteria for the 2026 AVCA Team Academic Award. The award recognizes volleyball programs that maintain a team GPA of 3.3 or higher during the academic year. It marks the 15th time in program history that MWSU has earned the AVCA Team Academic Award.
The Griffons also excelled individually in the classroom during the 2025-26 season, placing six student-athletes on the MIAA Newcomer Academic Honor Roll: Summer Anderson, Katelyn Diani-O'Day, Dakota Hendricks, Trista Marx, Tanith Roush, and Skylar Walters. Trista Marx earned 2025-26 MIAA Newcomer Scholar-Athlete honors, while Katelyn Diani-O'Day was named a 2025-26 MIAA Newcomer Academic Excellence Award recipient.
The 11 Griffon Volleyball student-athletes named to the Academic Honor Roll were Hayley Barsky, Brooklyn Gormley, Lia Graham, Holly Heldt, Emily Loy, Mackenzie Peters, Taylor Russell, Emma Salker, Anna Strohmeier, Noelle Sutcliffe, and Anna Weberg.
Three Griffons earned Scholar-Athlete distinction, including Emma Salker, Noelle Sutcliffe, and Anna Weberg. Salker was also one of nine MIAA volleyball student-athletes to earn all three of the league's postseason academic honors, highlighted by receiving the Academic Excellence Award.
Emma Salker*, Anna Weberg*, Holly Heldt, and Trista Marx announced the 2025–26 Academic All-District® Women's Volleyball teams on Tuesday, Dec. 16, as four Griffon Volleyball student-athletes earned Academic All-District honors.
