MANHATTAN, Kan. Kansas State volleyball was recognized on Monday for its success in the classroom by earning its sixth straight Game Plan/American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Excellence Award.

K-State placed eight student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 team, including six on the first team, following the 2005 season. The eight selections were the most for K-State since the inception of the Big 12 in 1996, when the Wildcats had nine honorees.

Student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 first team were: Joy Hamlin (anthropology), Jamie Perkins (nutrition sciences/pre-medicine), Sandy Werner (kinesiology), Angie Lastra (biology), Stacey Spiegelberg (life sciences/pre-nursing) and Jenny Jantsch (business). Student-athletes on the Academic All-Big 12 second team were: Katie Stanzel (marketing) and Rita Liliom (social science).

The Game Plan/AVCA Team Academic Excellence Award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average on a 4.0 scale and a 4.10 cumulative team GPA on a 5.0 scale during the school year. Nominating head coaches must be AVCA members.

NCAA Division I women’s programs set a single-season record for the number of collegiate schools at any division receiving the award with 54 in 05-06. The previous overall record was 47 Division I schools receiving the citation in 2001-2002.