LEXINGTON, Kentucky - The Henderson State women's volleyball program earned the 2021-22 United States Marine Corps/American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Award, the USMC and the AVCA announced Tuesday.

The USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award is given to volleyball teams that maintain a year-long grade-point average 3.3 on a 4.0 scale. After the 2020 season, when HSU won this award for this first time in school history, head coach Phil McDaniel has coached his team to its third consecutive year of receiving this honor.

"Our goal since I have been here has always been to get a 3.3 team GPA," McDaniel said after the 2021 season. In his five full seasons at the helm of the volleyball program, McDaniel and staff have already reached that goal three times. 

To go along with the classroom success, McDaniel has also led the Reddies to three 20-win seasons in the last four years, making HSU the only GAC team to achieve such a feat in that time span. Henderson has made four GAC Tournament appearances in a row, including a trip to the GAC Tournament Championship Match in 2018.

The journey for a fifth straight trip to the conference postseason begins Friday, Aug. 26 when the 2022 Reddie-Tiger Invitational kicks off the 2022 season as HSU opens against Cameron University at 11 a.m. inside the Duke Wells Center.