CEDAR FALLS - Cedar Falls' three-headed monster had Waterloo West by the leg early in Tuesday's metro volleyball matchup in the Tigers' gym.

Then the Wahawks wiggled free and administered a little bite of their own before Cedar Falls retreated with a 25-16, 25-18, 23-25, 28-26 Mississippi Valley Conference victory.

The Tigers' triple threat at the net of Laura Johnson, Kaitlyn Gillett and Miranda Dusenberry sparked the quick start.

"It is a little scary to see that three-headed monster coming at you," Tigers coach Matt Flaherty said. "We have been working on a quicker attack, and tonight we started out just that way.

"I could tell we were getting a little tired after that, and we began to push things and make some mistakes," Flaherty added. "We did play 16 games Saturday, and with the long weekend maybe we just got tired.

"West, however, came back and began passing so much better and really made us work."

Wahawks coach Dave Hirsch is waiting to see that side of his team from start to finish.

"If we can come out with that fire from the start, things will be a lot different," he said. "This team is capable of that at all times. When we pass the ball and get it to our front row, we look great.

"We just lack the mental toughness at times to be consistent and not let certain things bring us down."

Sophomore hitter Zinka Duric blasted away at Cedar Falls' three net-minders with eight kills and five blocks.

"We really wanted to beat Cedar Falls at home," Duric said. "We started off really slow, and now we know we have to start off every game on fire and get into the games early. I think we gave in too quick, and we didn't play the way we should.

"This game will show us that we can compete and win."

The Tigers absorbed the Wahawks' best, then turned junior setter Sydney Howard loose during the fourth set to capture the win.

Howard assisted on 39 points but showed her whole arsenal with four blocks, four ace serves and eight kills. Her short set to Gillett for the final kill sealed the deal.

"They (West) are a good blocking team, and we got a little lazy there and were not as aggressive and West came back," Howard said. "When I got to the front row, I knew it was to my advantage being left handed and I could get some good hits in.

"I think we did get physically tired, but mentally we were still tough and we did not want this to go to a fifth set. We were going to end it right now."

The Tigers travel to Osage this weekend, while West hosts Iowa City West next Tuesday.

"This was a fantastic start to the year and a great start to the Mississippi Valley Conference," Flaherty said. "The girls got a good feel of what this conference is all about."