PLYMOUTH, Wis. – Caitlyn Pernsteiner (Jr.-Arpin, Wis.) finished with 10 kills, Ryan Figi (Jr.-Hartland, Wis.) served up five aces and the Lakeland University women's volleyball team fought through hitting struggles to defeat Illinois Tech in four sets Thursday night at the Moose & Dona Woltzen Gymnasium.

The Muskies captured an important Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference win with a 25-18, 16-25, 28-26, 25-22 victory. Lakeland stretched its winning streak to five matches and gained some space on the Scarlet Hawks in the NACC standings in improving to 11-13 overall and 5-3 in conference play.

Little came easy for the Muskies on a night where they hit just .113 with 47 kills and 31 errors on the attack. Leading hitters Samya Hughes (Fr.-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) and Maleigha Kovalaske (So.-Ripon, Wis.) came in hot and combined for 26 kills with 14 and 12 kills, respectively, but also posted 22 hitting errors between the two.

Lakeland also struggled in the second set and the start of the third set, and also saw a nine-point lead in the fourth set dwindle down to one late. The Muskies battled back in the third set, though, and made enough plays down the stretch in the fourth set to finish the match out.

Pernsteiner picked up some of the offensive slack with 10 kills and a .412 hitting percentage in 17 attacks. She posted a pair of kills late in the pivotal third set which went past 25 points, with both teams having set points before Lakeland finally won it after kills by Pernsteiner and then Kovalaske on the Muskies' third set point.

Hughes then heated up in the fourth set with six kills, including three early as Lakeland ran out to an 18-9 lead. Illinois Tech (9-13 overall, 4-5 NACC) would fight back, though, and was within 23-22 after a kill by Cecilia Veters as part of a 5-1 run. Hughes followed with a kill, though, and Pernsteiner's kill down the line closed it out on the first match point.

Kenzie Jackson (Fr.-Mansfield, Texas) and Faith Baker (So.-Verona, Ill.) posted five kills plus three blocks (one solo, two assisted). Sydney Gay (So.-Rice Lake, Wis.) finished with 33 assists and Figi totaled team highs with 11 digs plus five service aces, including two aces in both the third and fourth sets.

Karla Trautmann Mendez led Illinois Tech with 14 kills plus three service aces. The Scarlet Hawks outhit Lakeland, posting a .156 attack percentage (48 kills, 27 errors), including .308 with 15 kills and three errors in winning the second set.

Lakeland goes on the road for another key NACC match Saturday when it travels to face Concordia University Wisconsin at noon in Mequon.