ST. PAUL, Minn. - The Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) announced their Athlete of the Week award winners Tuesday in the sports of football, volleyball, and men's and women's basketball. The awards are nominated by UMAC coaches and athletics communications staff and selected each week by the latter group.
FOOTBALL OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Sivert Klefsaas, Junior, Northwestern Eagles
Motley, Minn. / Staples-Motley
- Klefsaas had a career outing in UNW's conference championship-clinching win over Greenville. The junior ran for 245 yards and 3 touchdowns, averaging 8.4 yards per carry. He now leads the UMAC in rushing yards (1203), rushing TDs (12) and yards per attempt (7.1), and is 5th in all of NCAA DIII in rushing yards.
FOOTBALL DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Millicent Grear, Junior, Crown Polars
Pflugerville, Texas / Connally
- Grear dominated with a total of 18 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, and 1.5 sacks against MLC.
FOOTBALL SPECIAL TEAMS ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
LaShawn Williams, Freshman, Greenville Panthers
Eustis, Fla. / Eustis
- Williams had 5 kick returns for 185 yards and a touchdown.
VOLLEYBALL OFFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Lilly Mehrkens, Freshman, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Zumbrota, Minn. / Zumbrota-Mazeppa
- Mehrkens finished off her freshman season in style, posting a career high with 21 kills in Saturday's 3-2 loss to UW-Superior. In the two contests this week, she totaled 31 kills, hitting .288.
VOLLEYBALL SETTER OF THE WEEK
Abby Distad, Freshman, Bethany Lutheran Vikings
Kasson, Minn. / Kasson-Mantorville
- Distad concluded her 2024 campaign with a pair of career-bests, as she tallied 55 set assists and 20 digs in a 3-2 loss to UW-Superior. She added 32 assists in Friday night's 3-0 win to average 43.5 on the week.
VOLLEYBALL DEFENSIVE ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jenna Anderson, Senior, UW-Superior Yellowjackets
Bemidji, Minn. / Bemidji
- Anderson claimed a new high-water mark during last week's UMAC matches. She garnered 24 digs in a four-set victory against Martin Luther before finishing Saturday's match with 44, breaking her previous career best of 43. She capped the regular season with 746 digs on the season, while pacing the 'Jackets to leading all of NCAA Division III in total digs and ranking second in digs per set.
MEN'S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Adam Loberger, Freshman, Martin Luther Knights
Appleton, Wis. / Fox Valley Lutheran
- Loberger had an impressive college debut in MLC's 83-80 loss to Rockford on Friday. The freshman finished with 38 points (which was nearly half of his team's points), five rebounds and almost single handedly helped the Knights complete a double-digit comeback in the second half.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Kaitlyn VanderPloeg, Senior, North Central Rams
Clear Lake, Iowa / Clear Lake
- VanderPloeg was a force in the Rams home opener with 24 points, 17 rebounds, 4 steals, and 2 blocks. The senior also shot an efficient 68.8% from the field against a talented Edgewood squad.
The UMAC is an NCAA Division III member comprised of eight full-time member schools from Minnesota and Wisconsin: Bethany Lutheran College, Crown College, Martin Luther College, North Central University, Northland College, University of Minnesota Morris, University of Northwestern, and University of Wisconsin-Superior.
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