News & Links 9/28/2026 1:00:00 PM MIAC Athletes of the Week - September 28, 2026 FARMINGTON, 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, Concordia, Hamline, Macalester, St. Catherine, Saint John's, 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 Paxton Boyd Macalester College Jr. | Wide Receiver Newton, Mass. / Newton South Paxton Boyd caught 10 passes for 160 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Scots to a 24-14 win over St. Scholastica on 9/26. Boyd had touchdown receptions of four and 20 yards, with the latter putting Macalester on top for good, 21-14. Boyd has caught at least one touchdown pass in each of his last four games dating back to last season. MIAC Football Defensive Player of the Week Asher Niemi Macalester College So. | Linebacker Meridian, Idaho / Rocky Mountain Asher Niemi registered three sacks and blocked both a punt and a field goal to help the Scots defeat St. Scholastica, 24-14, on 9/26. Niemi totaled six tackles in the game, with four coming behind the line of scrimmage. His blocked field goal attempt came with the score tied at 14-14 in the third quarter. Niemi's three sacks are the most by a Scot in a single game since 2018. MIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week Mitchell Druley Concordia College Sr. | Kicker/Punter Norwood Young America, Minn. / Central Mitchell Druley accounted for seven points in the Cobbers' 31-9 victory over Gustavus on 9/26, going 4-for-4 on PAT tries and connecting on a 23-yard field goal. Druley also punted the ball six times for a total of 263 yards, averaging 43.8 yards per kick. His longest punt of the afternoon went 62 yards. He also pinned three punts inside the 20-yard line, with two landing inside the 10, and one inside the five. Those kicks set up the Concordia defense for a 3-and-out, pick-six, and a six-play, 11-yard drive. MIAC Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Sara Scherber Bethel University So. | Outside Hitter Rogers, Minn. / Rogers Sara Scherber hit .435 with 60 kills and 62 total points in a 3-1 weekend for the Royals at the Hope College Tournament on 9/25-26. Scherber hit .583 and recorded a career-best 23 kills in a four-set loss to Hope in the tournament opener, before collecting five kills in a sweep of Bluffton, 21 kills in a four-set win over Earlham, and 11 kills in another sweep against Ohio Northern. Scherber has hit .300 or better in five of her last six matches. MIAC Volleyball Specialty Player of the Week Cameryn Sand Hamline University Jr. | Setter Clear Lake, Minn. / Cathedral Cameryn Sand posted back-to-back assist-dig double-doubles in a 1-1 week for the Pipers. After setting season-bests with 44 assists and 13 digs in a four-set loss to Macalester on 9/24, Sand bettered both marks with 47 assists and 17 digs in a five-set victory over Saint Benedict on 9/26. Sand now has four double-doubles on the season, and three matches with 40-plus assists on the year. Her 44 assists against the Scots are the most in any four-set MIAC match this season, while her 47 helpers against the Bennies are the most in any five-set MIAC match in 2026. MIAC Men's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week AJ Jueseah Hamline University Jr. | Forward Heath Springs, S.C. / Andrew Jackson AJ Jueseah fueled the Pipers 4-0 win over UW-Stout Polytechnic on 9/24 with the first hat trick of his collegiate career. Jueseah scored twice in a seven-minute span in the first half, connecting on insurance goals in the 21st and 28th minutes, before adding a penalty kick score with three minutes left in regulation. MIAC Men's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week Billy Cornett Saint John's University Fy. | Defender Minneapolis, Minn. / Cretin-Derham Hall Billy Cornett backstopped SJU to a pair of wins last week, including a 2-0 shutout of nationally ranked Colorado College. Cornett played the full 90 minutes against Colorado College on 9/26, in addition to being credited with an assist during his 38 minutes of game time in a rout of North Central on 9/22. Cornett played a key role in holding North Central scoreless after a PK goal, as SJU played a man down for 77:24 and still managed to score nine unanswered goals. MIAC Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week Emily Johnson St. Olaf College Sr. | Forward Vadnais Heights, Minn. / Mounds View Emily Johnson broke the Oles' career records for goals and points upon tallying four goals and an assist in two victories last week. Johnson became the Oles' all-time leader in goals scored with two tallies and an assist in a 5-1 win over UW-Stout Polytechnic on 9/21 before claiming the all-time points record by scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory against Augsburg on 9/26. Johnson has now scored at least one goal in each of her last eight games. MIAC Women's Soccer Defensive Player of the Week Jaidyn Richter St. Catherine University Jr. | Defender Portland, Ore. / Cleveland Jaidyn Richter played all 270 minutes of three Wildcat victories last week, including a pair of shutouts against UW-Superior (9/23) and Saint Benedict (9/26). Richter helped hold the Yellowjackets to three shots in a 1-0 win, the Bennies to one shot in a 2-0 victory, and UW-Stout (9/27) to five shots in a 5-1 triumph. She was also credited with the game-winning goal against CSB.