HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team picked up four key wins this weekend when they swept the competition at the Hutchinson Community College Invitational Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan.

On Friday, Sept. 23, the Grizzlies, now 11-5, defeated 19th-ranked New Mexico Military Institute of Roswell 21-25, 19-25, 25-22, 25-20, 15-13 and Pratt (Kan.) Community College 25-16, 25-16, 25-17.  Saturday, Sept. 24, they downed the host team 25-22, 25-16, 25-18 and Cloud County Community College of Concordia, Kan., 25-10, 25-10, 25-18.

“Our first two games of the tournament weren’t the prettiest, but from game three on, we really started playing well,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said.  “We started off a little slow against New Mexico.  We had some of the same struggles in the first two games, not moving well and not talking, but we came back and won game three, and it took off from there.”

The Grizzlies posted the best game record of any of the teams competing in the event, winning 12 of the 14 games they played.  New Mexico went 12-3 and Jefferson College of Hillsboro, Mo., posted a 12-4 game record in the event.

The Grizzlies had a brief hiccup against Hutchinson in the first game of their match Saturday, but they regrouped to take the match in three games.  “Playing Hutch at home can be interesting, but we took care of business,” Wiedemann said.

Although the Grizzlies powered through the event, Wiedemann noted several improvements that still need to be made.  “One thing I’d like to see us improve is our hitting efficiency,”

Wiedemann said.  “We’re making too many unforced errors.  We’re still not moving like we should, and we’re not taking care of the ball well enough.  If we can minimize our errors, we will be much more effective.”

She also pointed out if the Grizzlies clean up their blocking, they could record a few more points from the defensive end.  “We are blocking well, but if we continue to work on our positioning, it will be a key to improvement,” Wiedemann said.

The Grizzlies were led offensively in the tournament by freshman outside hitter Aerielle Edwards, who had 38 kills.  She was followed closely by freshman middle attacker Magda Zietek with 30 kills, freshman middle attacker Bri’Ja Watterson with 29, freshman outside hitter Candyce Alexander with 28 and freshman outside hitter Taylor Swayzer with 16.  Zietek was the most effective hitter, recording an attacking percentage of .314.  Freshman setter Ezgi Guney set up 130 assists for the tournament, and Zietek and Guney each recorded six aces.

Defensively, Watterson led the charge at the net with 11.5 blocks, including four solos, and sophomore libero Abby Hanger led the backcourt effort with 41 digs.  Edwards posted the most points earned for the tournament with 45.5.

“Magda was our most consistent player on offense,” Wiedemann said.  “She’s putting herself in a position to get more sets.  Aerielle also had a nice tournament.  Her consistency in game three against New Mexico helped us tremendously.  Defensively, I thought Magda and Bri’Ja did well with their blocking.”

The Grizzlies return to their home court at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, to host National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II opponenet East Central College from Union, Mo.  Wiedemann said fans shouldn’t overlook East Central just because they’re a Division II school.  “They’re a really good D-2 school that has national tournament experience. 

“We will need to be ready to play,” she said.

For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball program, visit the team’s website at http://www.websightmaster.com/grizzly/.