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FOOTBALL
PSAC Western Division Offensive Athlete of the Week
Davis Black
California
Quarterback
Senior
Byesville, Ohio / Meadowbrook
Black accounted for 347 yards of total offense and four passing touchdowns on Saturday, as the Vulcans rolled to a 49-7 victory against Gannon in the opening week of PSAC West play. He set a season high with 297 passing yards on 23-of-31 attempts with four touchdowns and no interceptions. Black also led the team with 50 rushing yards on six attempts in the win. The Ohio native completed passes to eight different players and led the offense to touchdowns on five of his seven drives.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Maurice Feazell
IUP
Defensive End
Redshirt Senior
York, Pa. / William Penn
Feazell was a key cog in IUP’s shutout of Clarion, 31-0, last Saturday night. He tallied six tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss (three solo), and 2.5 sacks (two solo). His sack with 2:51 left to go in the game forced a fumble that was recovered by the Crimson Hawks to help preserve the shutout.
PSAC Western Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Reed Martin
Edinboro
Punter
Senior
Plum, Pa. / Plum
Martin continued to be a field-flipping weapon for the Scots. Against No. 9 Slippery Rock, he punted five times — averaging 49.2 yards per punt with a long of 62 yards. He pinned the Rock inside the 20 three times including a punt that was downed at the one. He also had two punts of 50+ yards as Edinboro fell just short of a comeback in last Saturday’s 28-23 loss to The Rock.
PSAC Eastern Division Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Jerry Griffen-Batchler
Bloomsburg
Wide Receiver
Junior
Norristown, Pa. / Germantown Academy
Griffen-Batchler had another monster game for the Huskies as he finished the day with 154 receiving yards on nine catches and two touchdowns, including the go-ahead TD catch with 27 seconds to play. Griffen-Batchler’s 154 yards are the most in his career and it is the second game this season he has caught two touchdown passes. JGB caught a 15-yard pass to begin the game-winning touchdown drive before hauling in the critical 24-yard pass in the back corner of the end zone in tight coverage to win the game. Griffen-Batchler caught his first touchdown pass of the game on the Huskies’ first drive as the junior hauled in a pass from KJ Riley at the WCU 25-yard line and took it the rest of the way for the score. He also had a one-handed catch on the sideline on a 3rd-and-10 to keep a drive alive in the third quarter in which Bloomsburg eventually scored on an 11-yard run by Riley to take a 14-0 lead.
PSAC Eastern Division Co-Offensive Athlete of the Week
Steven Burkhardt
Kutztown
Running Back
Redshirt Sophomore
Gloucester City, N.J. / Gloucester City
Burkhardt did a little bit of it all offensively to help No. 8 Kutztown storm back and take down East Stroudsburg on the road in its first PSAC Eastern Divisional game, 27-21, last Saturday night. Burkhardt finished with career-highs in rushing attempts (22) and yards (96) and also tied a career-best with two touchdowns on the ground. He also added a six-yard touchdown reception for a three-TD night. All three of his scores came consecutively in the second and third quarters. His first tied the score, his second gave KU its first lead of the game and his third put the game into a two-score margin.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
JT Kouame-Yao
Shepherd
Linebacker
Junior
Centreville, Va. / Westfield
Kouame-Yao recorded a game-high 13 tackles with six solo stops in Shepherd’s 38-0 win over Shippensburg. He added 4.5 tackles-for-loss (-12 yards) and a sack (-7 yards). The Shepherd defense limited Shippensburg to 21 rushing yards and 177 total offensive yards in the shutout.
PSAC Eastern Division Special Teams Athlete of the Week
Miles Greer
Shepherd
Return Specialist/Defensive Back
Sophomore
Springfield, Va. / South County
Greer had three punt returns for 75 yards, including a 61-yard return for a touchdown in Shepherd’s 38-0 win over Shippensburg. With under a minute to go left in the half and the Rams leading 21-0, Greer pushed the lead even further with his 61-yard scamper to make it 28-0 heading into halftime. He added five tackles (four solo) on defense.
WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
Western Division Athlete of the Week
Cassidy Snider
Clarion
Outside Hitter
Senior
Harmonsburg, Pa. / Conneaut
Snider was dominant in the opening two matches of PSAC West action last week, setting a new season-high for kills in the first match before breaking it in the second. The senior outside hitter averaged 6.44 kills per set in wins over California (PA) and Edinboro, hitting .321 with just 15 errors on 134 attempts. The week started with a then-season-high 28 kills and a .344 attack percentage against the Vulcans as Clarion defeated Cal 3-1; Snider also added 16 digs for the double-double. Her encore performance on the road against the Fighting Scots was timely as it was impressive, with Snider helping the Golden Eagles win a 3-2 marathon at McComb Fieldhouse. She totaled 30 kills and 13 digs for another double-double, while also hitting .300 for the match. Snider now needs just nine more kills to reach 1,700 for her career. With 1,691 career kills, she has moved into first place on the NCAA Division II active career ranking, and her 4.51 career kills per set is second among all active NCAA Division II players.
Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Ali Sorenson
Gannon
Middle Blocker
Senior
Tinley Park, Ill. / Lincoln Way East
Sorenson had a big defensive week while helping Gannon to a three-set win over IUP on Friday and a five-set win over Seton Hill on Saturday in PSAC West action. The 6-foot 2-inch senior had 16 total blocks in the two matches while adding 16 kills offensively. She opened with nine total blocks, including three solo blocks, in Gannon’s three-set sweep over IUP. She also had seven kills to rank second on the team. Sorenson added seven more total blocks, including two solo, in a comeback win against Seton Hill. Two of her blocks came in key moments late in the fifth set to help Gannon secure the win and move to 9-5 overall and 2-0 in the PSAC West. She also had nine kills and .368 hitting percentage in that match. For the season, Sorenson leads Gannon with a .377 attack percentage and 66 total blocks.
Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Rylee Lenz
Shepherd
Middle Hitter
Sophomore
Earleville, Md. / Bohemia Manor
Sophomore middle hitter Rylee Lenz led the Rams with 20 kills, four blocks (one solo), and a dig. She recorded a .381 attack percentage as the Rams rallied from match point in the third set to gain a five-set win over Shippensburg (the team that was the Eastern Division’s top seed in 2023) last Friday.
Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Harli Zeitz
Shepherd
Defensive Specialist/Libero
Senior
Lake Worth, Fla. / Somerset Academy Canyons
Zeitz recorded a career-high 34 digs to lead Shepherd to a five-set win over Shippensburg (the team that was the Eastern Division’s top seed in 2023) on Friday. She added five assists, a service ace, and averaged 6.8 digs per set to aid in the comeback effort.
WOMEN’S SOCCER
PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Lydia Gable
Shepherd
Forward
Junior
Felton, Pa. / Kennard Dale
Lydia Gable led #25 Shepherd to a 1-0-1 week. Gable scored a career-high four goals in a 5-0 win over Mansfield on Wednesday. The Rams battled to a 1-1 tie with #13 Kutztown on Saturday.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Samantha Merklin
Bloomsburg
Goalkeeper
Junior
Effort, Pa. / Pleasant Valley
Samantha Merklin led the Huskies defense in a 2-1 win over No. 13 Kutztown in the team’s lone contest of the week. She finished the day with five saves, her fourth such game of the season. Merklin helped hand the Golden Bears their lone loss of the season thus far and made several critical stops with Kutztown attackers central in front of the net.
PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week
Bailey McGee
Slippery Rock
Midfielder
Sophomore
Aurora, Ohio / Aurora
Slippery Rock sophomore Bailey McGee led The Rock to a 2-0 record on the week that included whopping 6-0 road victories against both Edinboro and Clarion. McGee, who didn’t have a goal to her name in her career coming into the week, led SRU with nine points on three goals and three assists. Additionally, she placed four of her seven total shots on net. McGee scored her first career goal against Edinboro Wednesday, a 60th-minute strike from outside the 18. She assisted Slippery Rock’s first goal in that game, sending a 40-yard cross to the far post in the 16th minute. McGee doubled both of her statistics against Clarion when she posted two goals and two assists against the Golden Eagles. McGee gave SRU a 1-0 lead 9:34 into action before adding a second goal in the 54th minute to put SRU up 3-0. She also assisted Slippery Rock’s second and fourth goals, totaling six shots and three shots on goal.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Morgan Sinan
Gannon
Goalkeeper
Graduate Student
Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley
Morgan Sinan helped the Gannon women’s soccer team continue its shutout streak as the Golden Knights went 1-0-1 in two PSAC West matches last week. She made one save and directed the defense while playing 75 minutes, 20 seconds in a 3-0 victory over Clarion on Wednesday. Sinan then played all 90 minutes and made two saves in a 0-0 at California, Pa. Sinan, and the Gannon defense allowed a goal in the first two minutes of the season opener and have not allowed a goal since on the way to a 5-0-1 overall record. Sinan has played 523 consecutive minutes without allowing a goal on the way to a .923 save percentage.
MEN’S SOCCER
PSAC Eastern Division Athlete of the Week
Richy Valverde
Millersville
Forward
Senior
Lancaster, Pa. / Conestoga Valley
Richy Valverde scored two goals in their 3-1 win against Wilmington (Del.). He had another shot on goal in Millersville’s 1-0 win against East Stroudsburg.
PSAC Eastern Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Ryan Krumenacker
Shippensburg
Goalkeeper
Sophomore
Cranberry Township, Pa. / Seneca Valley
Ryan Krumenacker made six saves in Shippensburg’s 3-0 victory over the West Chester Golden Rams Wednesday. The goalkeeper’s second clean sheet of the season included several reaction saves on shots from close range and marked the Raiders’ first shutout against the Golden Rams since the 2010 season (1-0 at WCU). Krumenacker followed his outstanding performance against West Chester with three saves Saturday against Bloomsburg – giving the netminder nine total for the week. Krumenacker currently leads all PSAC goalkeepers with 35 total saves and 5.83 saves per game.
PSAC Western Division Athlete of the Week
James Pool
Gannon
Midfielder
Graduate Student
Hasting, England / Claverham
James Pool scored his first two goals of the season as he helped the Gannon men’s soccer team to a 1-0-1 record last week. The midfielder had two goals and an assist in Gannon’s 4-0 victory over Post in a non-conference game at Lock Haven. First, he assisted on Shota Toyama’s goal late in the first half to open the scoring. Then, Pool scored unassisted just four minutes into the second half to boost the lead to 2-0. At the 65:30 mark, Pool then capped the scoring with a goal off an assist from Per Kristian Lauvstad. Pool then played solid defense in a 2-2 tie with Seton Hill to open the PSAC West season.
PSAC Western Division Defensive Athlete of the Week
Ethan Beck
Lock Haven
Goalkeeper
Freshman
Lancaster, Pa. / Warwick
Ethan Beck led the Bald Eagles to a 1-0 victory on Saturday night with his first-career shutout. Beck made four saves, including two from point-blank range to maintain the Bald Eagles advantage. On Wednesday, Beck made his first start on the season and made five saves against East Stroudsburg.
FIELD HOCKEY
PSAC Field Hockey Athlete of the Week
Jasmine Miller
West Chester
Forward
Senior
Millersville, Pa. / Penn Manor
Miller registered her second hat trick of the season in a 6-2 win over Slippery Rock last Saturday. She scored the final two goals of the game for the Golden Rams that helped them open up a 6-0 lead. The three goals tied her career high for goals in a game. She took over sole possession of sixth place on the school’s all-time scoring charts with her 36th, 37th and 38th career tallies.
PSAC Field Hockey Defensive Athlete of the Week
August Lewis
Mansfield
Goalkeeper
Graduate Student
Felton, Del. / Lake Forest
Lewis had a dominant week as she controlled the cage with the Mountaineer field hockey team defeating Frostburg State, 2-0, and had a close overtime loss with No. 5 West Chester, 1-0, after keeping them scoreless for all of regulation. Lewis had just the one goal allowed against WCU and a shutout against the Bobcats of Frostburg State. Lewis racked up a total of eight saves in each game, totaling 16 for the week.
CROSS COUNTRY
PSAC Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Victoria Mattioli
Shippensburg
Senior
York, Pa. / Red Lion
Shippensburg’s team finished second at the Dickinson Short Invitational, with Mattioli’s fifth-place finish leading the way. Washington & Lee finished 1-2-3-4 to claim the women’s “Short” victory. Mattioli was in 11th place at the mile timing point before surging into the Top 5. Her final time of 14:57.5 on the 4k course (average mile of 6:01.1) was just three seconds behind fourth place
PSAC Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week
Tommy Crum Jr.
Shippensburg
Redshirt Freshman
Carlisle, Pa. / Boiling Springs
SU’s team ran 2-3-4 for the win at the Dickinson Short Invitational, with Crum leading the way in 12:07.9 (4:52 average mile ). Dickinson senior Brock Overlander won the individual race by six-tenths of a second ahead of Crum, who made a late charge. The Raiders are now 29-0 through the first three meets of the season.
GOLF
