BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- The Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (MIAC) announced its Athlete of the Week award winners for football, volleyball, and soccer on Monday. Student-athletes from Bethel, Carleton, Concordia, Gustavus, 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 Football Offensive Player of the Week
Davion Henderson
Concordia College
Jr. | Wide Receiver
Aurora, Colo. / Grandview
Davion Henderson set the Cobbers' single-game record for receiving yards with 211 in a victory over St. Scholastica on 10/4. Henderson had eclipsed 100 receiving yards just once in his collegiate career entering the game. His nine receptions, 211 yards, and two touchdowns all represent new single-game career highs.
MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week
Devin Williams
Bethel University
Sr. | Cornerback
Fridley, Minn. / Fridley
Devin Williams registered a team-leading 11 tackles (eight solo), including a tackle for loss, and an interception in the Royals' 17-10 victory over nationally-ranked Saint John's on 10/4. Williams' pick came on the fourth play from scrimmage and led to the first three points of the game.
MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Marcus Merkelbach
Carleton College
Sr. | Kicker
Seattle, Wash. / Garfield
Marcus Merkelbach went 6-for-6 on PAT tries and drilled a 21-yard field goal in the Knights' 45-28 road win at Gustavus on 10/8. He added an average of 51.3 yards per kickoff with a trio of touchbacks. The victory helped Carleton snap a 27-game losing streak against Gustavus and claim its first football win over the Gusties since 1989.
MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week
Evelyn Kreft
St. Olaf College
Jr. | Outside Hitter
Becker, Minn. / Becker
Evelyn Kreft tallied 34 kills (3.09 per set) while hitting .338 on the outside as the Oles ran their winning streak to nine matches with a 3-0 week. After recording nine kills in a win at Concordia on 10/3, Kreft posted 12 and 13, respectively, while hitting north of .400 in victories over Nebraska Wesleyan and UW-La Crosse on 10/4.
MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week
Maren Sundberg
Gustavus Adolphus College
Sr. | Libero
Eagan, Minn. / Eagan
Maren Sundberg became just the third player in program history to reach 2,000 career digs, thanks to 82 digs (4.41 per set) in three matches for the Gusties last week. Sundberg had 20 digs and four assists in an upset victory over nationally-ranked WashU on 10/3 before contributing 16 digs against Millikin and 25 digs against UW-Stevens Point on 10/4.
MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Ben Pennell
Carleton College
Sr. | Forward
San Francisco, Calif. / Lick-Wilmerding
Ben Pennell scored four goals - including two game winners - and added an assist as the Knights went 2-0-1 on the week. He converted a penalty kick for the game's lone goal in a 1-0 win at UC-Santa Cruz (10/4) before tallying the second hat trick of his collegiate career the following day in a win over Lincoln University. Pennell added an assist in the 10/5 contest as well, giving him a career-best seven points on the day.
MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Jack Hobday
St. Olaf College
Sr. | Goalkeeper
Rochester, Minn. / Mayo
Jack Hobday went 2-0-0 with a 0.54 goals-against average and a .889 save percentage in the Oles' back-to-back MIAC wins last week. Jobday made five saves in a 6-1 victory over nationally-ranked Gustavus on 9/30 before stopping all three shots he faced to record the shutout in a 1-0 win at Saint John's on 10/4.
MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Claire Burbery
Carleton College
Sr. | Forward
Huntington, W.Va. / Huntington
Claire Burbery registered a first-half hat trick in the Knights' 5-0 victory against Concordia on 10/1. Burbery entered the contest with three goals for the season. Her hat trick is the 15th for the Knights since 1988, and the program's first since the 2010 campaign.
MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Avery Trapp
Carleton College
Sr. | Goalkeeper
Barrington, Ill. / Barrington
Avery Trapp totaled 11 saves in a pair of conference victories, with ten of those stops - including on a critical penalty kick in the 46th minute of play - coming in a 1-0 win at St. Catherine on 10/4. The ten saves are a season-high for Trapp, who set a new program record in the win with the 32nd victory in-goal of her Carleton career. It was also the 20th clean sheet of her collegiate career.