LEXINGTON, Ky. — San Diego volleyball has been recognized for its work in the classroom, earning the 2026 American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, the organization announced Thursday.

The Toreros carried a 3.31 team grade-point average across the 2025-26 academic year, clearing the 3.30 threshold required for the honor. San Diego opened with a 3.29 mark in the fall before climbing to a 3.41 in the spring, its strongest single-semester showing of the year.

A total of 1,432 collegiate and high school volleyball programs earned the award nationally, [284 of them NCAA Division I teams]. First presented during the 1992-93 academic year, the AVCA Team Academic Award recognizes programs that maintain a year-long grade-point average of at least 3.30 on a 4.0 scale, or 4.10 on a 5.0 scale.

The academic honor closes out a year in which San Diego was every bit as productive on the court. The Toreros went 25-5 overall and swept West Coast Conference play at 18-0, claiming their 13th league championship and a 27th NCAA Tournament berth — the program's first since its 2022 run to the national semifinal. USD's 25 victories tied for the fourth-most in a single season in program history.

Head coach Jennifer Petrie was named WCC Coach of the Year for the eighth time in her career as the Toreros took four of the league's five major awards. Olivia Bennett was also named to the 2025 WCC Volleyball All-Academic Team.

San Diego opens the 2026 season on Friday, August 28, against Baylor at the Stan Sheriff Center in Honolulu, the first of three matches in Hawaii before the Toreros return to Alcalá Park for a September 4 home opener against SMU.