Contact: Brock Reisler, Assistant Executive Director, breisler@midwestconference.org
HILBERT, Wisconsin – The Midwest Conference (MWC) announced its Performers of the Week award recipients for games played September 28-October 4, 2026, on Tuesday.
MWC sports information directors nominate student-athletes for the Performer of the Week honor by sport and vote as a committee to select the winners.
For the fall season, Performers of the Week will be recognized every week on Monday (football, soccer) and Tuesday (cross country, women’s tennis, volleyball) once their seasons have been triggered (three MWC institutions competing) and will conclude the week prior to the sport-specific Conference tournament/championship.
The Performer of the Week award winners are as follows:
Women’s Tennis Performer of the Week
Campbell Hayes, Illinois College
Hayes had an impressive week, helping IC to three victories and pushing the team’s winning streak to eight. Playing No. 3 singles, Hayes won all three matches with a combined score of 36-5. She teamed with Sophie Muir at No. 2 doubles to win all three matches by a combined score of 18-1.
Women’s Volleyball Offensive Performer of the Week
Bella Van Lannen, Lawrence University
Van Lannen helped Lawrence open Midwest Conference play 2-0, recording 29 kills across two victories. She posted 14 kills against Grinnell before adding a match-high 15 kills in a sweep of Monmouth. Van Lannen averaged 4.83 kills per set and delivered three kills during Lawrence’s six-point comeback in the third set against Monmouth, including the match-winning kill.
Women’s Volleyball Defensive Performer of the Week
Kensie Staats, Cornell College
Staats averaged 4.4 digs per set and totaled five ace serves in road wins over Illinois College (3-1) and Knox (3-0). The senior scooped 17 digs in the Illinois College match.
Men’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Jake Bach, Cornell College
Bach placed 47th out of 328 finishers with an 8K time of 25:17 in a highly-competitive Navy Championship Division at the Running of the Cows. The 35-team field featured 14 nationally-ranked programs. Bach was the top MWC individual finisher.
Women’s Cross Country Performer of the Week
Joley Berger, Ripon College
Berger ran a 21:33.0 6K this week at the Carleton Running of the Cows Pre-National Invite, securing a sixth place finish in the top division of competition. Berger's time comes in as the fastest 6K in the MWC this season, besting her previous top time by 10 seconds.