TAMPA, Fla. – The Sun Conference is excited to announce this week’s Player of the Week awards. Here is a quick recap of this past week’s action.
In the opening weekend of conference play, No. 7 Keiser football defeated Thomas by a 44-12 final score under the lights. No. 17 St. Thomas earned a road win over Webber International by a 41-16 score while Southeastern tallied a victory on their home field over Warner (54-9). Florida Memorial was also victorious over the weekend, earning a win over Ave Maria (56-13).
In SUN volleyball action this week, No. 24 St. Thomas went 3-0 with straight set victories over Ave Maria, Florida College, and Warner. Coastal Georgia also swept both of their opponents this week, beating LaGrange College and conference opponent Florida Memorial. Webber International tallied two wins this week with a three-set win over Trinity Baptist College and a five-set with over Ave Maria. Southeastern also went 2-0 on the week, defeating Warner in four sets and Keiser in three.
No. 3 St. Thomas men’s soccer went 2-0 on the week with wins over SCAD Savannah (6-3) and No. 15 Keiser (2-0). Keiser and Southeastern each went 1-1-1. In women’s soccer, No. 8 SCAD Savannah remains undefeated in the conference after victories over #25 St. Thomas (2-0) and Florida Memorial (4-0). After dropping the match to SCAD, St. Thomas bounced back to defeat the No. 11 Seahawks on their home field (3-0). SEU went 2-0 on the week, beating Florida Memorial and Webber International.
In cross country, SCAD Savannah's women's team won the Akiah McMillan Invitational in the 15-team field. Their highest individual finisher placed second with three more of their runners placing in the top-10. On the men's side, SCAD's squad placed fifth and tallied two top-10 individual finishers.
All awards are based on performances from September 25 - October 1.
Football Players of the Week
Sun Conference Football Defensive Player of the Week
James Hamilton - Southeastern | Sr. - Linebacker - Flint, Mich.
Hamilton picked off two passes and recovered a fumble during SEU's 54-9 win over previously unbeaten Warner. Hamilton also made three tackles as the Fire defense held Warner to less than half of its total yards average and well below its season average in points.
Sun Conference Football Offensive Player of the Week
Jaden Meizinger - Keiser | Jr. - Running Back - Port St. Lucie, Fla.
Jaden Meizinger tied the school record for rushing touchdowns in a single game, recording four in the Seahawk's 44-12 win over the Thomas (Ga.) Night Hawks on Saturday night. The native of Port St. Lucie, Florida, rushed for 153 yards on 17 carries on the night. It was the seventh 100-yard rushing game of his career and was the sixth-highest rushing total of his collegiate career. With four rushing touchdowns, Meizinger upped his season total to eight (tied for No. 5 in the NAIA). On the year, Meizinger has rushed for 351 yards on 69 carries (5.1 yards per rush). Meizinger is second all-time at KU in career rushing touchdowns with 31.
Sun Conference Football Special Teams Player of the Week
Dominic Larry - Southeastern | Jr. - Wide Receiver - Tallahassee, Fla.
Larry notched the first kickoff return for a touchdown in program history when he took the second half kick 85 yards to the house after an hour long lightning delay. He also had a touchdown reception in the game with 24 yards on two catches.
Volleyball Players of the Week
Sun Conference Volleyball Attacker of the Week
Brooklynn Slater - Keiser | So. - Outside Hitter - Las Vegas, Nev.
Outside hitter Brooklynn Slater continued her strong season this past week, recording 40 kills for the Seahawks as Keiser went 1-1 in Sun Conference action. The native of Las Vegas, Nevada, tallied 25 kills in Keiser's 3-1 win at Florida Memorial on Wednesday, becoming the first and only player in the NAIA this season to reach to 400-kill plateau. The 25 kills were also the fourth-most in a four-set match in Seahawks history. She added 15 more on Saturday to increase her nation-leading total to 415. Slater also leads the nation in points with 474.4, adding 43.5 this past week. She also added two service aces to increase her season total to 42 (No. 10 in the nation).
Sun Conference Volleyball Defender of the Week
Bianca Grassi - St. Thomas | Jr. - Libero - Livorno, Italy
Bianca Grassi helped lea the Bobcats defensively with another 3-0 week to make it nine straight. Grassi had three double digit dig outings averaging 5.33 digs per set. She remains a full dig per set above other conference defensive specialist and liberos as the only player above five. Grassi added three service aces on the week.
Sun Conference Volleyball Setter of the Week
Alexandra Postlethwaite - Southeastern | Jr. - Setter - Land O' Lakes, Fla.
Postlethwaite aided in a 2-0 week for the Fire with a total of 88 assists for a dominating 12.57 per set. Against Warner University, the junior recorded a season-high 51 assists and another 37 in just three sets against Keiser. Postlethwaite now sits just 54 assists away from 2,000 career assists.
Men’s Soccer Players of the Week
Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Franco Acerbi - St. Thomas | Gr. - Goalkeeper - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Acerbi had a big week in the net with 13 saves, eight against SCAD and five against #15 Keiser. The eight saves were the second most in his career, most in a regular season. Since 2021 Acerbi has held the Seahawks scoreless in four of five outings. The grad student has the lowest goals against average in the conference at 1.00.
Sun Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Thomas Persico - St. Thomas | So. - Forward - Buenos Aires, Argentina
Persico scored in both games this week but none was bigger than his two goals against #15 Keiser. Persico put the Bobcats in sole possession of first place as we round out the first round through conference play. STU is aa perfect 6-0 in SUN play and 8-0-1 on the year.
Women’s Soccer Players of the Week
Sun Conference Women’s Soccer Defensive Player of the Week
Emma Schweitzer - Ave Maria | Fr. - Goalkeeper - Lutz, Fla.
Schweitzer was utterly brilliant in Ave Maria's scoreless draw with nationally-ranked Keiser, making 14 saves in a shutout to get AMU their first ever point against the Seahawks. She added another six saves on Saturday, when the Gyrenes earned another point against Warner.
Sun Conference Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week
Abigail Siddall - SCAD Savannah | Jr. - Midfielder - Grosse Pointe, Mich.
Siddell was a part of the scoring initiative in both games this week as the Bees went 2-0 to remain unbeaten (10-0, 6-0 SUN). Against St. Thomas, Siddall assisted on the game-winning goal, and against Florida Memorial, she assisted the game-winning goal and then scored the second goal of the game in the 4-0 win.
Men's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Max Heins - SCAD Savannah | Fr.
Heins led the Bees to a fifth-place on Saturday, placing sixth of 132 runners in the 6k race at the Akiah McMillan Invitational with a time of 26:02.6.
Women's Cross Country Runner of the Week
Alex Midgett - SCAD Savannah | Gr.
Running in the first 6K of the season, Midgett led the Bees to a first-place finish in the field of 15 teams, and placed second of 114 runners.
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