MOORHEAD, Minn. -- Sophomore linebacker Reign Battle and senior middle blocker Mya Pfeifer have been named the Minnesota State Moorhead Athletes of the Month presented by Buffalo Wild Wings for the month of October 2026.

Battle established himself as one of the most disruptive linebackers in the Northern Sun throughout the month of October. The Moorhead product made multiple game-shifting plays in MSUM's 31-24 win over Minot State on October 3. Perhaps the most important was a red zone interception that sparked an eventual Dragon comeback. Battle logged seven total tackles in the win to go along with the interception. The sophomore would only continue his strong stretch of play the following week against UMary. Battle tallied another seven tackles while also securing another interception. At the time, it was Battle's third straight game forcing a takeaway. Battle's nose for the ball helped Moorhead retain the Paddle Trophy with the Marauders in a 42-22 win. So far this season, Battle leads the Dragons with 46 total tackles. 

Pfeifer has elevated her game over the past month as MSUM enters the month of November having won three straight matches. The senior's success has had a direct correlation in MSUM's surge as well. Pfeifer turned in three stirring performances last week alone, led by 12 kills in the victory over 19th-ranked Minnesota Duluth. The win for MSUM was the first over a ranked opponent since 2017. Pfeifer had another 12 kills in a three-set sweep over UMary on Friday before posting nine kills against Minot State on Saturday. The Moorhead product was downright pesky at the net last week as well, scoring 19 total blocks over 12 sets played. In the month of October, Pfeifer scored at least one block in each of the nine matches she played in. Pfeifer stamped 68 total kills in the month (2 k/s) behind an impressive .297 hitting percentage. In the last three matches alone, Pfeifer is logging a .397 hit percentage. The senior had a total of 39 blocks in October as well, clipping just over one block per set for the month.