BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for volleyball, soccer, golf, and cross country on Tuesday. Student-athletes from Carleton, Gustavus, Hamline, Saint Benedict, St. Catherine, and St. Olaf claimed the Conference's weekly honors.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week awards are nominated by the Conference's sports information directors and selected by MIAC staff. Throughout the fall season, team sports (football, soccer, and volleyball) Athletes of the Week will be recognized on Monday afternoons, with individual sports (cross country and golf) announced on Tuesday afternoons. The winners of the latest Athlete of the Week awards are listed below, along with details on their outstanding performances.
The MIAC Athlete of the Week archive has complete details on each week's selections and winners.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Lauren Klaith
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Outside Hitter
Rockford, Minn.
Lauren Klaith led the Gusties to a 3-1 weekend over nationally-ranked competition in Colorado. Klaith posted 61 kills over four matches (3.81 per set) while committing just 12 errors for a .320 attacking efficiency. Klaith had a pair of 20-plus kill matches, picking up 21 against No. 5 UW-Oshkosh and 20 against No. 11 Transylvania. She hit more than .400 twice over the weekend, including her match against the Titans (.419) and Colorado College (.423). She also added 11 digs and four blocks in the four matches. For her performance, Klaith was named to the All-Tournament team following the conclusion of the weekend.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Audrey Spolidoro
College of Saint Benedict
Sr. | Setter
Cottage Grove, Minn. | East Ridge
Audrey Spolidoro recorded a pair of double-doubles and accumulated 175 assists (10.29 per set) across the Bennies' four matches at the Trinity Fall Classic. Spolidoro tallied 55 assists in CSB's five-set win over SUNY Cortland on 8/31 and registered 40-plus against both Texas Lutheran (8/30) and Trinity (8/31). Spolidoro added 35 total digs (2.06 per set) along with nine block assists, eight service aces, and seven kills.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Ryder Tomlinson Sterud
Hamline University
So. | Forward
Plymouth, Minn. | Robbinsdale Armstrong
Ryder Tomlinson Sterud led the Pipers with three goals in a 2-0 opening weekend. Tomlinson Sterud scored his first goal of the season in a 2-0 victory against UW-Stout on 8/30 and added another in a 6-0 rout of Northland on 9/1. The Pipers' 41 shots against the Lumberjacks represented the program's highest single-game total since 2010.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Peter Forseth
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Goalkeeper
Minneapolis, Minn. | Holy Angels
Peter Forseth went 1-1 with a .846 save percentage and 1.00 goals-against average for the Oles in a pair of games against 2023 NCAA Tournament participants. The senior opened the season with a five-save shutout in a 2-0 victory at North Central (Ill.) on 8/30 before stopping six shots in a 2-0 loss at No. 7 UChicago on 9/1.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Kathryn Kresse
Carleton College
Jr. | Forward
Woodside, Calif. | Crystal Springs Uplands School
Kathryn Kresse notched the game-winning goal in all three matches on opening weekend, each against programs that qualified for the postseason in 2023. ), Kresse totaled five goals and an assist with eight total shots. She tallied the lone goal in the Knights' season-opening 1-0 win at Kalamazoo College on 8/30 and accounted for the scoring in a 1-0 win at Hope College on 9/2. In between, she posted her first collegiate hat trick, scoring three times during an 8-1 win at Albion College on 9/1.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Avery Trapp
Carleton College
So. | Goalkeeper
Barrington, Ill. | North Barrington
Avery Trapp did not allow a goal in 225:00 minutes in the net as the Knights went 3-0 on opening weekend. Trapp posted complete-game shutouts with one save in a 1-0 win at Kalamazoo on 8/30 and six saves in a 1-0 win at Hope on 9/2. She also stopped a 64th-minute penalty kick to preserve a 1-0 lead against Hope. Trapp played the first half of the Knights' 8-1 win over Albion on 9/1, collecting one save without allowing a goal.
MIAC Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Roy Llewellyn
Carleton College
Jr.
Downers Grove, Ill. | North
Roy Llewellyn ran the fastest 5K time in the MIAC on opening weekend, crossing the finish line in 15:14.0 at the Montana State Bobcat Twilight on 8/30. Llewellyn finished 11th overall and first among NCAA Division III participants. The Knights placed fifth as a team.
MIAC Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Alison Bode
St. Olaf College
Sr.
Minneapolis, Minn. | Southwest
Alison Bode was the top finisher at the Ole 5K Opener on 8/31 to lead the nationally-ranked Oles to a first-place finish as a team. The senior completed the 5K course in 19:02.9, which was nearly 17 seconds faster than the second-place finisher.
MIAC Men's Golf Athlete of the Week
Teddy Kaste
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr.
Apple Valley, Minn. | Eastview
Teddy Kaste picked up the first tournament win of his career over the weekend, placing first at the Augsburg Invitational to help the Gusties win the event. On 8/31, Kaste shot a three-under-par 69 with five birdies, including four in a row. He added three more on 9/1, shooting an even-par 144 (69-75) to take first in the field.
MIAC Women's Golf Athlete of the Week
Paige Hillman
St. Catherine University
Sr.
Hudson, Wis.
Paige Hillman carded a program-low round of 67 (-5) on the second day of the CSB Fall Invite to claim the individual title with an overall score 147 (+3). The Wildcats placed first as a team with a two-round tally of 615 (+39). Hillman's second-round score is tied for the 18-hole conference record set by Carleton's Alyssa Akiyama in 2016.