St. LOUIS – Missouri State's Teagan Polcovich was honored Tuesday as the Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week in volleyball, becoming the first freshman in school history to earn the award.

Polcovich took over libero duties for the Bears in their opening spring weekend and helped the MSU defense limit opponents to a .145 hitting efficiency. She led the team with 43 digs and a 3.58 per set average to go with a .947 service reception percentage.

The Edmond, Okla., native had 19 digs in Saturday's win against Summit League favorite South Dakota and 18 more against Wichita State Sunday. She entered Friday's match with Oral Roberts in the third set and tallied six digs, adding 13 assists on the weekend to rank second on the club.

The 4-1 Bears begin Missouri Valley Conference play Jan. 30 with a 1 p.m. match at Southern Illinois before the Salukis return the visit to Springfield on Feb. 2 at 3 p.m.