GUNNISON, Colo.  Western Colorado volleyball won three consecutive sets after dropping the first one to visiting N.M. Highlands in a 3-1 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference win Sunday at Paul Wright Gym.

The victory was Western's second in the past three matches.

JUST THE FACTS
Final score: Western def. NMHU, 3-1 (21-25, 25-17, 29-27, 25-15)
Records: Western 4-14 overall (2-6 RMAC), Highlands 1-18 (0-10)
Location: Paul Wright Gym, Gunnison, Colo.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Tied at a set apiece but facing a Highlands set point at 24-22 in the third, the Mountaineers proved too tough to tame in rallying for a 29-27 set win before closing out the match by never trailing in the clinching fourth set.
• The opening set could have flipped either way when tied late at 19-19, but the Cowgirls used a 3-0 spurt to edge in front before taking the set win.
• The Mountaineers took command of the second set in breaking from a 3-3 tie and building a cushion as large as 11 points in the match equalizer's eight-point set victory.
• The third set was the main determinant of the match, though. Western led early and was up at 13-10 only to have Highlands wrest the lead away at 16-15.
• The Cowgirls would eventually get to that set point, but a Maggie Olson kill followed by a Kerri Carsrud kill squared the match a 22-22.
• Carsrud knocked down another kill to edge Western back in front, but Highlands would battle back to once more take the lead at 26-25.
• But once again, an Olson kill saved the set and Western would eventually take the lead in the match with that extra-time 29-27 win.
• Olson began the fourth set with a kill and Western was never threatened after that, pounding out a 10-point set win to clinch the match.

NET NOTES

• While Olson knocked down 17 kills, her total was only second-best in the match as teammate Seyun Park collected a match-high 19 kills. Carsrud more than doubled her best output of the season, registering a season and career high 15 kills.
• Park's total was one kill shy of her season high, but that 20-kill output came in a five-set match while Sunday's total was a four-setter.
• Park also tied her season high in blocks, earning four block assists and one solo block for a night's output of 5.0 blocks.
• Nur Turkmenoglu had 49 set assists, the second highest total in her season and the fifth time she's contributed more than 40 assists in a match for the Mountaineers.
• The defense behind the blocks had a solid night for Western with five Mountaineers coming up with double-digit digs, led by Elizabeth Rupprecht's and Olson's 17 digs apiece.
• Addison Lynn, who chimed in with 13 digs, played through the full rotation for the first time in her collegiate career and contributed a season best four kills while posting a .957 serve receive percentage over 22 opportunities.
• Posting a perfect night in the reception column was Kacee Garcia who was flawless in 26 opportunities.

UP NEXT
The Mountaineers are away from home the next two weekends, beginning with a trip to the University of Colorado Colorado Springs on Oct. 20 and a visit to Regis University in Denver the next night.