SUPERIOR, Wis. -- Senior Alexie Pryd (Maple Grove, Minn./Maple Grove Senior) recorded a season-high 21 kills to go with 10 digs to help the UW-Superior volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Martin Luther at Mertz Mortorelli Gymnasium on Friday.
 
Pryd hit .463 on the night with just two attack errors in 41 swings as the Yellowjackets rebounded from dropping the first set, 25-23, to win the next three, 25-18, 25-20 and 25-17. With the victory, Superior's seventh in the last outings against Martin Luther, UWS improves to 6-7 overall and 2-0 in the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference.
 
Sophomore Maiana Stark (Germantown, Wis./Germantown) added eight kills and junior Kaylin Plautz (Elk River, Minn./Elk River) had five as UWS hit .191 as a team, including .300 in the second set -- a stanza that featured 11 kills and two errors.
 
Freshmen Lizzy Schmidt (Twin Lakes, Wis./Wilmot Union) (19 assists) and Colleen Claude (Centuria, Wis./Homeschool) directed the offense with 36 of the team's 40 assists. Sophomore Jenna Anderson (Bemidji, Minn./Bemidji) scooped a match-best 16 digs, while Schmidt added 10 for her second career double-double. 
 
UWS used a 10-3 run early in the second set to take a 17-9 advantage. Kills from Rilie Kupka (Eagan, Minn./Burnsville Senior), Stark, Pryd and Plauttz highlighted the stretch. The Knights pulled to within 18-15 on a Hannah Willems kill, but a 5-1 run put the 'Jackets in position to win the set four points later.
 
A 4-0 run for UWS tied the third set at 10-10 when freshman Ella Kapus (Ham Lake, Minn./Blaine) and Stark combined for a block. The 'Jackets then converted five straight points, taking a 17-13 edge on a Stark kill. Marena Saeger's (Stillwater, Minn./Stillwater Area) kill for a 20-16 cushion ignited a three-point run, and UWS cruised to take a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Yellowjackets jumped out to a 13-8 edge in the fourth set, withstanding a Martin Luther charge that made it 13-11 before benefitting from four consecutive MLC errors to take control at 17-11. UWS won six of the final seven points to seal the match with an Anderson service ace, Plautz kill and two Martin Luther (4-10, 0-2) errors.
 
Willems paced MLC with 11 kills, and Lauren Paulsen added 10 and 13 digs.
 
UWS is back at it Saturday, hosting Bethany Lutheran Saturday at 1 p.m.