PEORIA, Ill. -- For the seventh time in the last eight years, the Bradley volleyball team has earned the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Team Academic Award, according to an announcement by the AVCA.  The Braves are one of seven Missouri Valley Conference teams and part of a record 103 NCAA Division I teams to earn the honor. 

Thirteen of 14 team members posted a 3.0 grade point average in at least one semester with nine individuals earning a spot on the Athletic Director's Honor Roll both semesters of the 2011-12 school year.  The team boasted a 3.405 team grade point average for the 2011-12 academic year. 

The award, initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, honors teams which displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative GPA.

The Braves open the 2012 season Aug. 24 against Liberty in the North Carolina Central Invitational in Durham, N.C.  Bradley's home opener is slated for Sept. 4 (7 p.m.) against Saint Louis at Renaissance Coliseum.