ST. PAUL, Minn. - Bethany sophomore outside hitter Lilly Mehrkens (Zumbrota) and sophomore setter Abby Distad (Kasson) were named UMAC Volleyball Offensive Athlete and Setter of the Week, respectively, the conference office announced Tuesday.

Mehrkens and Distad helped Bethany go 3-0 during the week with convincing wins over Buena Vista (3-1) on Wednesday, and both Luther (3-0) and Saint Mary's (3-0) on Saturday, extending the Vikings' win streak to five matches, which is the longest win streak since 2007. Mehrkens led the offense in all three matches. She had a career-high 25 kills and a .316 hitting percentage against Buena Vista, including 11 digs for a double-double. Mehrkens then had 17 kills and a .318 attack percentage against Luther. She finished the week with 17 kills and a blistering .469 attack rate against Saint Mary's. Mehrkens averaged 5.9 kills per set (59 total) and owned a .353 attack percentage. 

Distad started the week with 48 assists and 11 digs against Buena Vista. She then distributed 36 assists with seven digs and three aces against Luther, and finished the week with 33 assists against Saint Mary's. Distad averaged 11.7 assists per set throughout the week and leads the UMAC with 10.3 assists per set this season.