SAN ANGELO, Texas – Midwestern State fought back from large deficits in the opening two games and came away with a 3-0 decision over New Mexico Highlands Saturday morning in the Fairfield Inn/Staybridge Suites Invitational at Junell Center/Stephens Arena.

The Mustangs, who improved to 4-2 on the season, claimed wins of 31-29, 33-31 and 30-17, but had to dominate late in each game to seal the wins.

"We were really flat in the beginning," MSU coach Venera Flores-Stafford said. "We used all of our timeouts and had to find a sense of urgency."

Down 28-24 in the opening game, sophomore middle blocker Alysha Pritt responded with four kills and two blocks down the stretch to pull the Mustangs to a 31-29 win in Game 1.

After trailing by as many as seven points in Game 2, MSU fought back to knot the game at 28-28 as the teams exchanged kills and were still tied at 31-31.

But after senior outside hitter Krissa Johnson converted a kill, New Mexico Highlands setter Vanessa Garcia committed a lift to allow the Mustangs to come away with a 33-31 win.

"We couldn't find out rhythm for the second-straight match today in the opening to games," Flores-Stafford said. "We were letting New Mexico Highlands dictate the pace."

The Mustangs took control of Game 3 thanks in large part to a seven-serve rally by junior Becki Smith. The 5-9 defensive specialist uncorked a pair aces as the MSU lead grew from 16-10 to 22-11 as the Mustangs pulled away for a 30-17 win.

Freshman outside hitter Lauren Hubbard paced the MSU attack with 14 kills with a .300 attack percentage, while sophomore middle blocker Sesley Graves and Pritt had 11 apiece.

Senior Shay Velasquez led the Mustangs with 11 digs, while junior setter Allison Schreiber recorded 41 set assists.

Midwestern State will complete play at the Fairfield Inn/Staybridge Suites Invitational at 2 p.m. against Texas-Brownsville.