The Empire 8 Conference has named two St. John Fisher College student-athletes to its weekly honors list. Mason Judd of the football team was named the Conference's Defensive Player of the Week, while Paige Willson of the volleyball team was named the Conference's Rookie of the Week, both for the week ending October 2, 2011.

Judd played a crucial role in the win over conference-rival and 10^th-ranked Alfred University on Saturday afternoon at Growney Stadium. In a game where the Cardinals held the Saxons to under 151 yards less than their season average, Judd recorded several key stats. The sophomore finished the day with three tackles, a fumble recovery and three broken up passes. Those broken up passes came in pivotal situations, one coming on a third down and another on a fourth down to force a turnover-on-downs. The fumble recovery was also important as it ended a drive in the Fisher red-zone with the game tied at 3-3.

Willson is a freshman on the volleyball team who contributed impressive stats in a 3-2 week for the Cardinals. In five matches, Willson recorded 44 kills, 17 digs, 5 blocks, 3 assists and a service ace. Fisher's last match of the week was against SUNY Oneonta and Willson tied for a team-high 11 kills and added four digs and a block. She recorded a hitting percentage of 1.000 in a win against Mount Aloysius and a .533 hitting percentage in a loss at the University of Rochester. The East Concord native averaged 2.32 kills per game in 19 games throughout the week.

Judd and the football team get their first true road test of the season at 1 p.m. Saturday as they travel to Ithaca to face the Bombers at Butterfield Stadium.

Willson and the volleyball team return to action at home on Saturday when they host Cortland and Pittsburgh-Bradford in an attempt to improve on their impressive 13-7 record.