Shelter Island School volleyball team earns national honors
As their coach, I am always proud of Shelter Island’s varsity volleyball team. However, the team now has more independent proof that it’s both smart and athletic.
The Suffolk County Class D champions have earned their ninth consecutive Team Academic Award from the American Volleyball Coaches Association.
In addition to earning the 2023 USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award, the team has also earned the additional Honor Roll distinction! The Honor Roll represents the top 20% of team GPAs in the high school teams throughout the nation earning the Team Academic Award.
The Team Academic award honors volleyball teams that maintain a year-long, grade-point average of 3.3 on a 4.0 scale, or 4.1 on a 5.0 scale.
The team’s combined high GPA over the entire academic year displays that they truly embody the term student athlete. The team has earned this award annually since 2015, a difficult achievement.
The 10 athletes of the 2022-2023 team that helped win this national recognition are Kat Austin, Alexandra Burns, Sophie Clark, Harper Congdon, Mary Gennari, Kaitlyn Gulluscio, Andrea Napoles, Margaret Schultheis, Mackenzie Speece, and Madison Springer.
Academic excellence does not happen by accident, and in a school where student athletes are also in multiple clubs, often holding officer positions, and expected to fully participate in student life, it can be stressful.
I applaud these young women who manage to balance so many roles and remain committed to do their best in each.
