By Town Crier Staff Report

The girls volleyball teams from Los Altos and Mountain View highs recently received 2004-05 American Volleyball Coaches Association Team Academic Awards.

Initiated in the 1992-93 academic year, the award honors college and high school teams that displayed excellence in the classroom by maintaining at least a 3.30 cumulative team grade-point average. Los Altos posted a 3.780, the 26th-best team GPA among the qualifiers. Mountain View recorded a 3.610 GPA (56th).

The AVCA recognized 276 high school volleyball programs for academic excellence in 2004-05 - the second most in the program’s history. The award “embodies the true meaning of the student-athlete concept, and the AVCA is honored to recognize these schools for excellence in the classroom,” said Katherine McConnell, AVCA executive director. “We congratulate the student-athletes, as well as the coaches and school administrations, for maintaining balance between academics and athletics.”

Each school receives a plaque, and each player is awarded a certificate commemorating the designation.