The Knoxville High School volleyball squad has pulled off a major off-the-court feat; all the members of the team — every player on the roster — have been named Academic All-Conference for the season.

The South Central Conference selected the entire Panthers team for the award, based on their individual achievements in the classroom.

Head Coach Mollie Keitges has known about this for about two weeks; she tells KNIA/KRLS News she has no secret for motivating the team to stay on top of their studies — the players are self-motivating.

“They just impress me so much; all of them are multi-sport athletes and involved in so many activities at school, and they keep their academics a priority,” Keitges says. “They’re really role models for me, that they get it all done and keep it together and excel at everything.”

The Panthers had a cumulative grade point average of 3.86, topping the 3.80 GPA earned last year by the girls basketball team.

The team also did well on the court; the Panthers finished 17-15 for their first winning season in a decade, and won the South Central Conference title for the second consecutive year.