TACOMA, Wash. — The 2025 Northwest Conference Tournament Champion Pacific Lutheran University volleyball team maintained its outstanding success in the classroom this year, securing the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award for the ninth consecutive year.

The Lutes were among the 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball teams to win the award, including five of the nine NWC institutions. To be eligible, teams had to compile a year-long grade point average of 3.30 or higher on a 4.0 scale. This past academic year, the PLU volleyball team owned a 3.59 cumulative GPA and a 3.68 GPA during the spring semester. 14 of the squad's 15 team members carried a GPA above a 3.0 including two 4.0 student-athletes. 

PLU's nine straight AVCA Team Academic Award honors is the longest streak in the NWC. University of Puget Sound and Whitman College have both won the award for seven consecutive years while Lewis & Clark College is landing the honor for the second straight season while Willamette University is earning the award for the first time since 2024.

The Lutes finished the 2025 season with a 16-10 overall record and a 12-4 mark in conference play. PLU defeated both Puget Sound and Whitworth University in the NWC Tournament to win the title for the second time in three years before facing ninth-ranked Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the first round of the NCAA Division III Tournament. 

PLU opens the books on the 2026 season on Sept. 1 with a road match against Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington.