Arizona indoor volleyball made its first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018 last season. It also made a statement in the classroom, earning the AVCA Team Academic Award for the third time in program history and second year in a row. The Arizona beach volleyball program was also honored, earning the award for the 11th straight season and maintaining the highest team GPA in Division I beach volleyball.
The AVCA Team Academic Award is given to college and high school teams that maintain a team GPA of 3.30 on a 4.0 scale for the entire academic year, not including summer terms. It includes the GPA of all athletes who competed in at least one set during the traditional season. The team’s coach must be an active member of the AVCA and the team must be nominated by its coach or the coach’s representative.
Arizona’s indoor team was honored for the first time in 2019. It has earned recognition in two of its three seasons under current head coach Rita Stubbs.
The SandCats came into the 2025-26 academic year tied for the third-longest streak in college beach volleyball, trailing only Georgia State and Stanford. The beach team was also honored with the Team Academic Honor Roll which honors programs in the top 20 percent of their division. Head coach Steve Walker’s team also earned the distinction of 2026 Team Academic Champion for having the highest team GPA in the division.
The awards have been given out every year since 1992.
