ALISO VIEJO, Calif. — The GSAC announced its latest Players of the Week and Athletes of the Month presented by Athletic Solutions on Monday.
La Sierra claimed two women’s volleyball awards, with Maylynn Mitchell being named Attacker of the Week and Mayah Tiscareno earning Defender of the Week. The Master’s setter Kate Wagner received her fourth weekly award of the season and her third consecutive selection.
In men’s soccer, Arizona Christian’s Jose Garcia earned the offensive honor, while Embry-Riddle goalkeeper Sam Macdonald received his second Defensive Player of the Week award of the season. La Sierra’s Bianca Ahumada was selected as the Women’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week, while Park Gilbert goalkeeper Journey Morimoto collected the defensive honor.
The conference also recognized its latest monthly award winners. The Master’s Andrew Fastrup and Embry-Riddle’s Sophia Noriega received the men’s and women’s cross country awards, respectively. Park Gilbert’s Riley Wortman was named the Men’s Golfer of the Month, while Embry-Riddle’s Bellamaria Mantini earned the women’s honor.
Below is a closer look at each award winner.
Women’s Volleyball
Attacker of the Week: Maylynn Mitchell, La Sierra
Mitchell totaled 41 kills as La Sierra earned conference victories over Park Gilbert and Embry-Riddle.
The sophomore outside hitter opened the week with 22 kills, 10 digs and one block in a four-set victory over Park Gilbert. She averaged 5.50 kills per set and finished the match with a .378 hitting percentage.
Mitchell followed with 19 kills, eight digs and three assists as the Golden Eagles defeated Embry-Riddle in five sets. She finished the two-match week averaging 4.56 kills and 4.9 points per set with a .302 hitting percentage.
Setter of the Week: Kate Wagner, The Master’s
Wagner earned her fourth GSAC Setter of the Week award of the season and her third consecutive selection after leading The Master’s past OUAZ in four sets.
The junior setter distributed 54 assists and averaged 13.50 assists per set. Wagner also recorded 17 digs, four kills and one block in the victory.
She committed only one attack error on 10 attempts, finishing with a .300 hitting percentage while helping the Mustangs hand OUAZ its first conference loss.
Defender of the Week: Mayah Tiscareno, La Sierra
Tiscareno recorded 20 digs in each of La Sierra’s two victories during the week.
The junior libero collected 20 digs and six assists in a four-set win over Park Gilbert. She added another 20 digs and eight assists as the Golden Eagles defeated Embry-Riddle in five sets.
Tiscareno finished the week with 40 digs and 14 assists across nine sets. She averaged 4.44 digs per set and helped La Sierra complete a perfect 2-0 week.
Men’s Soccer
Offensive Player of the Week: Jose Garcia, Arizona Christian
Garcia recorded a hat trick to lead Arizona Christian to a 7-1 road victory over Park Gilbert.
The senior forward and midfielder scored three times on five shots, placing every attempt on goal. He converted a penalty kick and finished the match with six points.
Garcia scored on 60% of his attempts while helping the Firestorm secure the conference road victory.
Defensive Player of the Week: Sam Macdonald, Embry-Riddle
Macdonald earned his second GSAC Defensive Player of the Week award of the season after helping Embry-Riddle record victories over Soka and The Master’s.
The graduate student goalkeeper from Dunfermline, Scotland, made two saves in a 3-0 shutout of Soka. He followed with five saves in a 3-2 victory over The Master’s, including a penalty-kick stop that helped preserve the win.
Macdonald finished the week with seven saves and allowed only two goals as the Eagles posted a 2-0 record.
Women’s Soccer
Offensive Player of the Week: Bianca Ahumada, La Sierra
Ahumada scored four goals to lead La Sierra to an 8-1 victory over Benedictine Mesa.
The junior forward scored on four of her six shots and placed all six attempts on goal. She converted a penalty kick, recorded the game-winning goal and finished the victory with eight points.
Ahumada totaled 10 shots across La Sierra’s two matches during the week, placing seven on goal and producing a .400 shooting percentage.
Defensive Player of the Week: Journey Morimoto, Park Gilbert
Morimoto made eight saves as Park Gilbert earned conference victories over Arizona Christian and Benedictine Mesa.
The junior goalkeeper from Keaau, Hawaii, stopped all three shots she faced in a 3-0 victory over Arizona Christian, earning her third clean sheet of the season.
Morimoto added five saves in a 5-2 road victory over Benedictine Mesa. She finished the week with a 1.00 goals-against average and an .800 save percentage while helping the Buccaneers post a 2-0 record.
Cross Country
Men’s Runner of the Month: Andrew Fastrup, The Master’s
Fastrup posted a pair of top-30 finishes during the award period.
The freshman from Peoria, Arizona, opened with a 16th-place finish at the Mark Covert Classic, completing the 8-kilometer course in 25 minutes, 31 seconds. He followed with a 29th-place performance among 219 runners at the UCR Invitational.
Women’s Runner of the Month: Sophia Noriega, Embry-Riddle
Noriega recorded two victories and another top-10 finish across three meets.
The junior from Chandler, Arizona, placed eighth among 54 runners at the George Kyte Classic, completing the 2.5-mile course in 14:59.1 as the first NAIA finisher. She then won the 5-kilometer Embry-Riddle Invitational.
Noriega completed the award period by winning The Mustang Invitational in 20:58.1. Her performance established a meet record, improving the previous mark by eight seconds.
Golf
Men’s Golfer of the Month: Riley Wortman, Park Gilbert
Wortman averaged 71.3 strokes across six rounds and recorded two top-three finishes during the month.
The senior from Queen Creek, Arizona, won the Park Gilbert Shootout with rounds of 73, 71 and 63. His final-round 63 at Las Colinas Golf Club established new career and program records.
Wortman followed with rounds of 77, 70 and 74 at the OUAZ Fall Invitational, finishing tied for third among 68 golfers. His victory at the Park Gilbert Shootout was the second individual title of his career.
Women’s Golfer of the Month: Bellamaria Mantini, Embry-Riddle
Mantini earned a victory and a runner-up finish across Embry-Riddle’s two tournaments during the award period.
The junior from Chandler, Arizona, opened with rounds of 70, 65 and 70 to finish second among 42 golfers at the Northwest Iowa National Invitational. Her second-round 65 tied the Embry-Riddle program record.
Mantini then posted rounds of 70, 73 and 75 to win the OUAZ Fall Invitational, finishing first among 43 competitors.
2026 GSAC Weekly and Monthly Awards
Cross Country Monthly Awards