June 5, 2012

LAWRENCE, Kan. - Led by four 4.0 student-athletes, the Kansas volleyball team bested the KU athletic department with a 3.44 GPA for the spring semester.

Nine KU teams achieved GPA's of 3.0 or better, led by volleyball's 3.44, marking the third-straight semester the Jayhawk volleyball squad has led the department in team GPA.

"This is a testament to our team's dedication both on the court and in the classroom," head coach Ray Bechard said. "I'm very pleased and proud of them. Not only are they balancing the intense training and conditioning that comes with the spring practice session, we also increase the academic workload with the spring being our off-season. They handle that very well."

Winners of six-straight American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Awards, volleyball contributed four 4.0s and four more finished the spring with a 3.5 mark or better. Collectively, KU's teams saw 35 student-athletes score a perfect 4.0 GPA, leading a total of 209 who earned their way onto the Athletics Director's Honor Roll with GPA's of 3.0 or higher.

Senior Allison Mayfield, who broke KU's single-season kills record this fall before using her fifth year of eligibility to join the track team, posted a perfect 4.0 as did fellow senior Nicole Tate. Sophomores Marianne Beal and Kara Wehrs also turned in flawless 4.0 semesters.

Other sports achieving 3.0's included soccer (3.32), softball and swimming & diving (3.25), men's golf (3.14), women's golf (3.11), tennis (3.05), and football and women's track & field at 3.00.