ST. LOUIS – Missouri State's Kyle Hiebert was selected as Missouri Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Week, announced by the league Tuesday (March 16).
 
Hiebert is the fourth Bears player to earn one of the Valley's weekly honors following in the footsteps of teammates Dawson Lee (March 9), Connor Langan (March 2) and Nicolo Mulatero (March 2) who previously received accolades.
 
As the reigning MVC Defensive Player of the Year, Hiebert guided MSU to its third straight shutout victory with a 2-0 win over Creighton on Wednesday, March 10.  He also notched his first goal of the year on a header following a corner kick to score the game-winner in Wednesday's match.  The captain added another key defensive effort in the Bears' 2-1 win against Evansville on Sunday, March 14, helping to limit the Purple Aces to merely two shots in the match. 
 
Hiebert and the MSU defense have allowed only one goal in 2021 with their .250 goals against average ranking second in the conference while holding opponents to just over five shots per game (5.25) with 21 shots through four matches.
 
A four-year starter for head coach Jon Leamy, Hiebert has made 58 consecutive starts while chipping in three assists and three goals.  Prior to the 2021 spring season, he was named to the preseason All-MVC team and earned a spot on the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list.
 
Missouri State heads out on the road on Thursday, March 18 with a match against Bradley at 6 p.m.