FARMINGTON, Utah (Oct. 20, 2025) – The Big Sky Conference announced its Player of the Week honors, presented by
JAMBAR, with soccer, football, volleyball, cross country, women's golf and men's golf all in full swing.
Big Sky Football Players of the Week (Oct. 20, 2025)
Offensive Player of the Week: Keali'i Ah Yat, Montana (QB, R-So., Kaneohe, HI.)
Montana's Keali'i Ah Yat had over 350 yards of total offense and six touchdowns in the 43-21 win over Sacred Heart. The quarterback completed a personal best 82 percent of his passes (27-33) to rack up 349 yards and another career high five touchdowns over the air to post a 220.7 passer rating against Sacred Heart. All told he was responsible for six scores and 368 yards of total offense on the game, adding a rushing touchdown to his haul and 19 net yards. Ah Yat's six touchdowns are tied for the most touchdowns responsible for by a Big Sky player in a game this season. The weekly conference honor is the second of the season for the Grizzly quarterback.
Defensive Player of the Week: Kao Hansen, Weber State (DB, Jr., Alpine, UT.)
Kao Hansen had two interceptions and six tackles in Weber State's 43-27 win at Portland State on Saturday afternoon. Hansen's interception in the third quarter led to a field goal, while his pick in the fourth quarter was returned to the one-yard line which the Wildcats punched in for a touchdown on the next play. The weekly conference honors for Hansen are the first of his career.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Grant Meadors, Sacramento State (K, So., Bakersfield, Calif.)
Grant Meadors was a perfect 4-of-4 on field goals Saturday night, aiding in Sacramento State's 40-35 win over Northern Colorado. Meadors was successful on field goal attempts of 37, 28, 34, and 42 yards in the win, with his 34-yard attempt with 9:30 to play putting the Hornets ahead by two points and his season-long 42-yarder with 2:01 remaining to extend the team lead to five points. Overall, Meadors had 16 of Sac State's 40 points, 12 coming from field goals and four off his perfect day on PATs. The weekly conference honor is the first of his career.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Football Player of the Week
Offense: Nate Bell (EWU), Ah Yat Keali'i (UM), Carver Cheeks (UNC), Tyrese Smith (PSU), Rodney Hammond Jr. (SAC)
Defense: Jaylon Jenkins (EWU), Hunter Peck (UM), Hudson Voggesser (UNC), Bryson Ross (PSU), Ricky Lee III (SAC)
Special Teams: Drew Deck (UM), Leo Blumentritt (UNC), Cru Newman (PSU), Sloan Calder (WSU)
Big Sky Volleyball Players of the Week (Oct. 20, 2025)
Offensive Player of the Week: Victoria Marthaler, Sacramento State (OH, Sr., Albuquerque, NM.)
Sophomore Victoria Marthaler had another huge week while leading Sacramento State to a pair of home wins over Montana (3-2) and Montana State (3-0). The outside hitter had 52 kills over two matches, averaging a whopping 6.50 kills per set to go along with a .311 hitting percentage. She accounted for nearly half the Hornet kills (105) during the week, hit above .300 in both matches, had 17 more kills than any player in the Montana match, and eight more kills than any player in the Montana State match.
That included a career-high tying 33 kills vs. Montana where she had kills on each of the Hornets' final five points of a 15-13 fifth set win over the Grizzlies. It marked her second straight match with 33 kills (33 last Saturday at NAU), and she became the first Hornet in 30 years to garner back-to-back 30 kill matches. She also hit .307.
In the victory over Montana State, despite the match lasting just three sets, she registered 19 kills, a .341 hitting percentage and two aces. Her 19 kills were exactly half the Hornets' final output of 38.
Now ninth in the nation in kills, the Albuquerque, N.M., native easily leads the Big Sky with 6.07 kills per set.
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Meline Shulikov, Idaho State (OH, Sr., Spannish Fork, UT.)
Meline Shulikov led the Bengals to a 1-0 week of play, defeating Weber State, 3-1, en route to ISU's 3rd straight win, their longest winning streak of the season.
Meline would finish with her 1st double-double of the season (3rd of her career), putting up 12 kills on .242 hitting, 5 assists, 11 digs, and a match-high 6 blocks. Shulikov would end the match with a team-high 16.0 points.
Co-Defensive Player of the Week: Ashlynn Archer, Sacramento State (MB, Sr., St. John, Wash.)
Senior Ashlynn Archer helped lead the Hornets to a pair of home wins over Montana (3-2) and Montana State (3-0). The middle blocker averaged 1.38 blocks per set, which included five blocks vs. Montana, and six vs. Montana State. Both of those outputs were match highs, and Archer was a catalyst in limiting the Bobcats to just a .169 hitting percentage. She also hit .439 for the week with 2.63 kills per set.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Volleyball Player of the Week
Offense: Nora Waddoups (ISU), Gracie Cagle (UM), Alayna Tessena (UNC), Tyra Schaub (PSU)
Defense: Alexis Batezel (UM), Zoe Gibbs (UNC), Naomi White (PSU)
Big Sky Soccer Players of the Week (Oct. 21, 2025)
Offensive Player of the Week: Micala Boex, Northern Arizona (F, Jr., Aurora, Colo.)
Micala tallied her seventh multi-point game of the season on Friday against Weber State with one goal, and one an assist against ISU on Sunday in two draws for NAU. The junior currently sits first in points per game in the conference (1.33), and tied for first in both total goals (seven) and assists (six).
Defensive Player of the Week: Kaya Lindberg, Northern Colorado (GK, Gr., Ranchos Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Lindberg turned in an elite two-match stretch in goal, totaling 18 saves while allowing just one score across 180 minutes of play. Her .947 save percentage and 0.50 goals-against average both rank top-three in the Big Sky, and she added a complete-game shutout to cap the week.
Lindberg's 13-save performance is the most in a single-match by a Big Sky goalkeeper this season.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Soccer Player of the Week
Offense: Chloe Pattison (EWU), Caylee Kerr (UM), Lexi Tuite (UNC), Presley Ray (WSU)
Defense: Kamryn Willoughby (EWU), Ashlyn Dvorak (UM), Lauren Butorac (WSU)
Big Sky Cross Country Athletes of the Week (Oct 21, 2025)
Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week: Colin Sahlman, Northern Arizona (Sr., Newbury Park, Calif.)
Pacing the Lumberjacks to victories over four top 10 teams has earned Northern Arizona's Colin Sahlman Men's Cross Country Athlete of the Week honors. He finished in 18
th place with an 8K time of 23:37.5, anchoring one of the most complete and cohesive team performances of the meet. NAU finished ahead of No. 6 BYU (5
th), No. 7 Wisconsin (9
th), No. 9 Notre Dame (10
th) and No. 18 Iowa State (27
th).
Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week: Emma Stolte, Portland State (RJr., Townsend, Mont.)
Securing her fourth-consecutive top 10 finish in the deepest field the Vikings have seen this season, Portland State's Emma Stolte has been named Women's Cross Country Athlete of the Week. The Montana native finished in third place at the Bronco Invitational on Saturday with a 6K time of 20:37.4, shaving 12 seconds off per personal best. Stolte moved up to fifth all-time in the 6k at Portland State with the finish and tied Katie Camarena for the highest individual finish by a Viking at the Bronco Invitational, as Camarena also placed third in 2021.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Cross Country Athlete of Week
Men's: Conner Wirth (EWU), Owen Smith (MSU), Logan Gullet (UNC), Abdinajib Abade (PSU), Ryan Martin (SAC)
Women's: Nattie Ruzauskas (EWU), Hayley Burns (NAU), Regina Mpigachai (UNC), Anna Harmon (SAC)
Big Sky Men's Golfer of the Week (Oct. 22, 2025)
Men's Golfer of the Week: Leander Neuhaus, Francis Marion (So., Hamburg, Germany)
For the second-consecutive week, Francis Marion's Leander Neuhaus has been named Big Sky Conference Men's Golfer of the Week. Neuhaus shot 4-over 217 to register his second consecutive Top-20 finish as FMU finished 15th in the team standings at the 55th-annual Furman Intercollegiate Men's Golf Tournament presented by Ezelle/Hines Properties. The 54-hole event was played on the 7,131-yard. par-71 Furman University Golf Course. His first round included an eagle on the par-5, 565-yard 15th hole.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Men's Golfer of the Week
N/A
Big Sky Women's Golfer of the Week (Oct. 23, 2025)
Women's Golfer of the Week: Tova Hatton, Sacramento State (So., Svedala, Sweden)
Skyrocketing up the leaderboard in the third and final round of the 2025 Rainbow Wahine Invitational has earned Sacramento State's Tova Hatton Big Sky Conference Women's Golfer of the Week honors. Hatton shot 69 in the third round and vaulted into 11
th place overall at 215 (-1). Hatton began the round with a birdie on the par-5 10
th before returning to even with a bogey on the par-3 14
th. She made the turn at 2-under with birdies on the par-4 16
th and par-3 17
th. She continued her round on the front side, with birdies on Nos. 2, 4 and 6 (all par 5s). She remained at 5-under until a double-bogey on the par-3 eighth and closed with a par. She joins teammate Ella Kraft as fellow Hornets to earn the league's weekly title during the fall season.
Others Nominated for Big Sky Women's Golfer of the Week
N/A
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