MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Lakeland University women's volleyball team won its ninth straight match, continuing what is now the program's longest winning streak in nearly a quarter a century after sweeping Alverno College Thursday night in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference match.

The Muskies rolled past the Inferno 25-6, 25-15, 25-5 for their ninth straight win and to improve to 15-13 overall and 9-3 in the NACC. Lakeland is on its longest winning streak since 2001, when the Muskies won 10 in a row to close the season, with the nine straight victories tied in that time only by the 2002 team which posted a school-record 32 wins.

Lakeland also moved closer to clinching a top-four seed in next week's NACC Tournament. The Muskies can wrap up the fourth seed and a quarterfinal match at home by winning at Concordia University Chicago Saturday.

Lakeland easily handled Alverno (3-22 overall, 0-1 NACC), never trailing in the match and only as much as tied in the second set, when the teams alternated points in being tied five times early in the set.

The Muskies hit a sizzling .513 as a team with 43 kills and just four errors. Samya Hughes (Fr.-Wisconsin Rapids, Wis.) finished with 11 kills and a .588 hitting percentage, and also topped 400 kills for the season, just the eighth in school history to reach that mark. Maleigha Kovalaske (So.-Ripon, Wis.) totaled 10 kills and Caitlyn Pernsteiner (Jr.-Arpin, Wis.) added nine kills without an error in 13 attacks for a .692 hitting rate.

Lakeland also served 13 aces, including 11 in the fourth set. Rylee Esquibel (So.-Devine, Texas) served four straight aces early in the set, Ryan Figi (Jr.-Hartland, Wis.) and D'Janae Gilley (Sr.-El Paso, Texas) later served two aces each and Kovalaske added three more aces as the Muskies closed the match with the final seven points.

Kenzie Jackson (Fr.-Mansfield, Texas) also added seven kills, Kovalaske and Figi finished with 10 digs each and Sydney Gay (So.-Rice Lake, Wis.) dished out 38 assists.