WEST PLAINS, Mo. – The Missouri State University-West Plains Grizzly Volleyball team began staking its claim on Region 16 Tuesday night, Sept. 25, with a 25-18, 24-26, 25-12, 25-12 win over the defending region champions, Mineral Area College (MAC) Cardinals of Park Hills, Mo., at the West Plains Civic Center arena.

The Grizzlies are now 9-5 for the season and will play in the Seward County Invitational Tournament Friday and Saturday, Sept. 28-29, in Liberal, Kan.  Friday, the Grizzlies will face Seminole (Okla.) State College at 9 a.m. and Frank Phillips College of Borger, Texas, at 5 p.m.  Saturday’s bracket play will be determined by the outcome of Friday’s matches.

“It was good to get that first region win,” Grizzly Volleyball Head Coach Paula Wiedemann said of Tuesday’s victory.  “Knowing that MAC was the defending region champion, we wanted to make a statement that we were going to vie for that top spot.”

The Grizzlies started the contest strong, but found themselves struggling toward the end of game one.  “We had eight hitting errors in game one and only 11 for the remaining three games.  Even though we won that first game, we didn’t do it very efficiently,” the coach said.  “Our players need to be able to earn points the right way and not off sloppy play.  That’s kind of what was happening at the end of game one and going into game 2.”

Those struggles continued throughout game two.  “Our game two breakdown was in communication and movement, the same things as before,” Wiedemann said.  “We didn’t have good flow in that game, and MAC played very well.”

During the 10-minute break between games two and three, the Grizzlies were reminded of the little things they weren’t doing well or had stopped doing.  “I told them they needed to talk to each other and work with each other to make adjustments on the court.  They need to understand it’s their responsibility to talk about adjustments and problem solve on the court,” Wiedemann said.

The talk helped.  The Grizzlies picked up their game, began doing the little things they needed to do and made the win look easy, the coach said.  “We took care of all the easy stuff, which frustrates the other team.  Then they start trying to do too much, which causes errors.  When you take away the easy things, you force your opponent to play a certain way, and that’s what we did in games three and four,” she explained.

By the end of the match, the Grizzlies were firing on all cylinders, both offensively and defensively.  Three Grizzlies had attacking percentages over .300, with sophomore middle attacker Magda Zietek leading the way at .381.  She was followed by freshman middle attacker Torika Baleilekutu with .350 and freshman outside attacker Helena Peric with .320.

“When you have three players hitting very efficiently, you’re earning a lot of points and not giving many away,” Wiedemann said.

Zietek and Peric also led the team in kills with 12 each, followed by sophomore outside/right side attacker Candyce Alexander with 10 and sophomore outside attacker Taylor Swayzer with nine.  Freshman setter Sarah Stretch led the team in assists with 49, and freshman libero Victoria Williams paced the team in passing rating with 2.75.

“Once again, Sarah distributed the ball well, and Victoria made our passing look effortless.  She’s really beginning to take more control out there,” Wiedemann said.  “Taylor struggled in game one, but I was very proud of how she worked her way out of it during the course of the match.  They couldn’t stop her.”

Defensively, Baleilekutu led the team in blocks with 4.5, including one solo block, and in points earned with 16.5, and Peric led the team in digs with 22.  Both Baleilekutu and Peric recorded three aces to lead the team in that category, as well.

Wiedemann said she would like to thank Hirsch Feed & Farm Supply for sponsoring the match.  “We really appreciate the support they show us throughout the season,” she said.

Wiedemann hopes the Grizzlies can continue their improving play this weekend in Kansas.  “We need to continue to take care of the little things and build on the positives and improvements we’ve made.  We shouldn’t settle with where we are right now,” she said.

For more information about the Grizzly Volleyball team, including a copy of the 2012 schedule, visit the team’s website at http://wp.missouristate.edu/grizzly/vb/.