FULTON, Mo.- William Woods University volleyball attacker Luciana Paiva Pereira and men's soccer goalkeeper Matthew Dworak were named women's and men's student-athletes of the month for September 2025, respectively. 

Paiva Pereira, a senior from Varginha, Brazil, has generated a stacked trophy case earning 1st Team All-AMC, AMC Academic All-Conference, Daktronics NAIA Scholar-athlete and adding a CSC Academic All-District in 2024 alone. In September, she accumulated 144 kills, 41 digs, and averaged four kills per set. Paiva Pereira also reeled in two Heart of America Athletic Conference Attacker of the Week honors sponsored by Target Sports for her exceptional play.  

A long-time staple for Woods Men's Soccer, Dworak, a senior netminder from Warsaw, Poland, continued his dominance in goal. In September the Owls went 2-2-4, only allowing eleven goals in the month. The keeper reeled in 47 saves in the month boasting a .810 save percentage. Dworak was also recognized by the conference for his play in net winning Heart of America Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Defender of the Week sponsored by WinWon sports as the Heart announced Monday afternoon.  

William Woods University Student-Athlete of the Month Honors are awarded to the student-athletes who received the most votes. Each month, athletes are nominated by faculty, staff and school personnel. These nominees are placed into the voting system and are selected based on the results of a panel of seven senior members of the athletic department.