LEXINGTON, Ky. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) recently announced that Slippery Rock University was one of 55 NCAA Division II women's volleyball programs to earn the AVCA Team Academic Award for the 2009-2010 season.

The Rock, under the guidance of veteran head coach Laurie Lokash, has now earned the award five successive seasons.

The AVCA Team Academic Award 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.

An all-time-high total of 450 programs received the award in 2009-10. SRU was joined in that group by four other Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference programs: Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Gannon and Indiana.

The Rock will open its 2010 season Sept. 3-4 at the Oredigger Classic hosted by Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colo.

The first home match is scheduled for Sept. 24 against Indiana (Pa.). The match will start at 7 p.m. in Morrow Field House.