GRANTHAM, Pa. – It was a big day of awards for Messiah Athletics on Tuesday. Just a day after a trio of Falcons were named the Conference's Players of the Week, all three were honored by their respective coach's associations as the National Players of the Week. For Messiah, Rachel Delate was honored as the IWLCA Division III Player of the week, Matt Knab was celebrated as the AVCA Division III Player of the Week, and Esther Seeland was named the USTFCCCA Athlete of the Week.
 
AVCA Division III National Player of the Week – Matt Knab
MAC Offensive Player of the Week…Named MAC Championship MVP as he guided Messiah to its first MAC Championship…Dished out 54 assists, four blocks, and three kills in the first matcha against Alvernia…Recorded 40 assists, six digs, three blocks, and three kills in a come-from-behind win against Stevenson in the championship match…Finished the tournament with 94 assists, averaging 10.44 per set.

This is the third Sports Imports/AVCA Player of the Week honor for the program and third this season after Mason Nissley took home the award twice.

IWLCA Division III Offensive Player of the Week – Rachel Delate
Delate tied a career-high with 10 points against Widener in a 19-7 win on Saturday with five goals and five assists, while also netting two goals against #6 York earlier in the week as the Falcons remained undefeated with a 14-8 victory over the top-10 opponent. Delate, a sophomore attacker, finished the week with 12 points on seven goals and five assists, and also added two ground balls and three draw controls. 
 
USTFCCCA Division III Women's Athlete of the Week – Esther Seeland
Esther Seeland is finding her groove.
 
Seeland, competing at the Messiah Multi/Invitational, bettered her national lead in the 800 to 2:07.72 and posted an NCAA DIII-leading mark in the 1500 of 4:27.39. She has nearly four full seconds on the rest of the field in the 800 and almost one full second on former National Athlete of the Week Parley Hannan of Ithaca, who previously owned the NCAA DIII 1500 chart-topper.
 
This is the first time in program history that an athlete from Messiah has been named National Athlete of the Week during the outdoor season.
 

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