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DOWAGIAC — The Southwestern Michigan College volleyball team got back on the winning track with one of its best performances of the season Thursday night.

The Roadrunners snapped a three-match losing streak by defeating visiting Lansing Community College 25-8, 25-20 and 25-18 in the 1st Source Bank Fieldhouse.

“We know what we need to do to win,” said SMC Coach Jenny Nate. “We just have to do it every single match. We know how we need to execute, what our energy needs to be like, and how we need to treat our teammates in order to sweep matches; tonight, we came in ready to take a conference win on our home court. I absolutely loved our energy from the second we stepped in the gym to warm up. We knew it was going to be a good night just watching them prepare.”

It was evident from the first set that this is not the same Roadrunner squad that has lost three consecutive matches, including two in Michigan Community College Athletic Association Western Conference play.

“I love the intensity and desire this team has to learn from losses, come back harder the next day, do the work, and then clinch a win,” Nate said. “Their trust in each other is getting better and stronger, and with that comes confidence. We also came in with a goal to play clean ball; we needed to reduce our unforced errors, get our serves in, get back to our fundamentals, put the ball away when the set is there, and be smart with placing the ball when we are out of system. This was a great conference win and really gives us a shot to keep on climbing.”

Faith Rankin (Battle Creek/Lakeview) had a team-high 10 kills for the Roadrunners, to go along with nine digs. Bianca Hobson (Kalamazoo/Loy Norrix) had a team-high 10 points, as well as, five kills, two blocks and two digs. Nikki Nate (Niles) finished the match with seven kills, seven points, two blocks and seven digs.

Emma Beckman (Niles) had 20 assists, three digs, two blocks and a kill.

Southwestern Michigan (9-6, 3-2 Western Conference) is back in action this weekend as it plays in the GRCC Raider Challenge. The Roadrunners faced Carl Sandburg College and McHenry County College today.

Southwestern will take on Lincoln Land Community College and Oakland Community College Sunday. The Roadrunners return home Tuesday night for a Western Conference showdown with division leader Lake Michigan College.