FARMINGTON, Utah (Sept. 30, 2024) – The Big Sky Conference announced its weekly honors for the past week of competition, as it was another jam-packed week of football, volleyball, soccer, cross country and golf all in action for the final weekend of September.
Big Sky Football Players of the Week (Sept. 30, 2024)
Logan Fife, Montana (QB, R-Jr., Tracy, Calif.)
In his first start at Montana, quarterback Logan Fife helped the Grizzlies win a 52-49 shootout at Eastern Washington for the program’s first victory on the Red Turf. Fife threw for 364 yards on 30-of-42 attempts and five touchdowns, with no interceptions on the day. The 364 yards passing was the most for a Grizzly quarterback since Dalton Sneed threw for 459 in 2019. Overall, Montana had 701 yards of total offense on Saturday.
Defensive Player of the Week
Alex McLaughlin, Northern Arizona (DB, So., Chandler, Ariz.)
Alex McLaughlin led Northern Arizona on defense as the Lumberjacks upset No. 10 Sacramento State at home. McLaughlin had nine tackles, four solo, with a pair of sacks, two tackles for loss and a forced fumble that was recovered for a touchdown. The NAU defense limited Sacramento State to 231 yards of offense, including just 51 net yards rushing. The Hornets averaged 173 rushing yards per game entering Saturday.
Special Teams Player of the Week
Marcus Lye, Northern Arizona (K/KO, Jr., Parkes, Australia)
Marcus Lye had a career day in the upset win over No. 10 Sacramento State, as he made two field goals for the first time in his career, connecting on a career-long 52-yarder and a 30-yarder. Lye made all four extra point attempts, while handling kickoff duties as well where he boomed all seven kickoffs for touchbacks for a 65.0 average.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Football Player of the Week
Offense: Jaden Jones (CP), Kekoa Visperas (EWU), Scottre Humphrey (MSU), Ty Pennington (NAU), Quincy Craig (PSU), Miles Hastings (UCD), Damon Bankston (WSU)
Defense: Ryan Tirrell (UM), McCade O'Reilly (MSU), Rex Connors (UCD), Garrett Beck (WSU)
Special Teams: Hunter Green (UNC), Zach Schreiner (SAC)
Big Sky Volleyball Players of the Week (Sept. 30, 2024)
Carisa Barron, Portland State (OH, Sr., Bakersfield, Calif.)
Carisa Barron led the Vikings to a resilient weekend as they opened Big Sky play 2-0. Barron was dominant in both matches in leading the Viking offense over the weekend. Barron recorded a career-high 21 kills on .298 hitting against Idaho on Thursday, then followed that up with 18 kills on .341 hitting on Saturday against the Grizzlies. For the weekend, Barron averaged nearly five kills per set (4.88) while hitting north of .300 (.319). She also had three service aces over the weekend.
Ashlynn Archer, Sacramento State (MB, Jr., St. John, Wash.?)
Ashlynn Archer helped the Hornets to a perfect 2-0 record this past week, which included a Thursday home win over Montana State, and Saturday road victory at Eastern Washington. The middle blocker helped spearhead a Sacramento State defense that limited its opponents to a .178 hitting percentage. She posted match highs in blocks in both contests, finishing the week with an average of 1.75 blocks per set. The St. John, Wash., native tied or set career highs in blocks in both matches.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week
Offense: Bri Gunderson (EWU), Madu Fontes (UI), Meline Robarge (ISU), Paige Clark (UM), Madilyn Siebler (MSU), Syd Cole (UNC), Caitlin Volkmann (SAC), Ashley Gneiting (WSU)
Defense: Makenna Collins (EWU), Zuzanna Wieczorek (UI), Asiah Sopoaga (ISU), Alexis Batezel (UM), Lauren Lindseth (MSU), Paige Stepaniuk (PSU), Marly Pratt (WSU)
Big Sky Cross Country Athletes of the Week (Oct. 1, 2024)
Men's XC Athlete of the Week: Justin Keyes, Northern Arizona (So., Gilbert, Ariz.)
Claiming an individual victory at the Dave Murray Invitational has earned Northern Arizona’s Justin Keyes Men’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors. Keyes won the 8K with a time of 23:04.6 to pace the Lumberjacks to a 15-point performance and a team victory in the desert.
Women’s Athlete of the Week: Ava Mitchell, Northern Arizona (So., Centennial, Colo.)
Leading the Lumberjack women to victory at the Dave Murray Invitational earns Ava Mitchell Women’s Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors. Mitchell earned a runner-up finish, finishing the 6K course with a time of 20:45.3. NAU scored just 20 points as a team in the meet, securing six of the top seven spots.
Others Nominated for Big Sky XC Athlete of the Week
Men’s: Evan Peters (EWU), Rob McManus (MSU), Peter Visser (WSU)
Women’s: Cassidy Walchak-Sloan (EWU), Laurie Murphy (WSU)
Big Sky Soccer Players of the Week (Oct. 1, 2024)
Offensive Player of the Week: Hannah Alfaro-Black, Idaho (MF, Gr., Placentia, Calif.)
Hannah Alfaro-Black scored two goals for Idaho on the week, as she propelled the Vandals to a 2-0 start in conference play after wins over Sacramento State and Portland State. She scored her third goal of the year in a 2-0 victory over the Hornets on Friday before registering her fourth of the season in 3-0 win over the Vikings on Sunday. The midfielder has now totaled eight points, four goals and two game-winners so far this season.
Defensive Player of the Week: Alyssa Peters, Idaho (D, Gr., Bremerton, Wash.)
Alyssa Peters helped lead Idaho to a pair of shutout wins on the backline, as she aided the defense to give up 0 goals on 26 shots over the week in wins against Sacramento State and Portland State. Peters also scored her first goal of the season and added two assists for the week to help the offense. Peters now holds the Idaho record for career assists (24) and is three assists shy of tying the all-time Big Sky record of 27.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Soccer Player of the Week
Offensive: Isabelle Herting (EWU), Alyson Starbuck (ISU), Chloe Seelhoff (UM), Elle Frazier (PSU)
Defensive: Kamryn Willoughby (EWU), Trinity Hale (ISU), Bayliss Flynn (UM), Eden Millan (PSU)
Big Sky Golfer of the Week (Oct. 2, 2024)
Women’s Golfer of the Week: Becca Tschetter, Montana State (RSr., Minot, North Dakota)
In her first tournament as a Bobcat, Montana State’s Becca Tschetter outpaced the field at the Diane Thompson Invitational to secure her first collegiate victory and earn Big Sky Golfer of the Week honors. The transfer from Grand Canyon shot a 3-over 219 to win the event by three strokes. This result comes one week removed from MSU’s Lauren Greeny winning her first collegiate tournament at the Eagle Invitational. The graduate transfer last played competitively at the WAC Tournament in April, where she placed runner-up individually for the Lopes.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Women’s Golfer of the Week
Jade Gruher (WSU), Tannica Porter (PSU), Darla May Dela Torre (SAC)
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