GREAT FALLS, Mont. – There was no emotional letdown for the University of Providence women's volleyball team on senior night. The Lady Argos were faced with a tough task on the senior's final home game, going up against (15) Montana Tech, but the team upset a ranked opponent for the second time in the last four matches beating Tech 3-0 (29-27, 25-20, 25-21).
 
"I was big to win in what was potentially our last home game. We're hoping for one more if we can eventually host the NAIA Opening Round, but to win this one at home for our seniors was awesome," Head Coach Arunas Duda. "I got kind of choked up in the locker room beforehand because they're a pretty cool group. They have a lot of energy, a lot of passion, and they've put a lot of hard work into this program."
 
The end of the first set was the tipping point of the match.
 
Thanks to a ferocious start from UP's hitters, the Lady Argos dominated the set. Freshman hitter Sydney Andersen had 5 kills and 0 hitting errors in the set, while senior right side Mariah Diaz and redshirt-freshman Lauren Brown each had 4 kills.
 
Their efforts had UP poised to take a 1-0 lead with the score at 24-19. The Lady Argos then gave up the next 6 points and went from holding set point to giving Tech set point at 25-24.
 
It looked like Tech had taken UP's best punch and was still standing, but instead the Lady Argos held tough and scratched out a 29-27 win with two big kills from senior outside hitter Korie Milan.
 
After that set, it was Tech that looked like the team that had already given its all and came up short. The set was close for the first 16 points, but a 6-0 rally for UP had the team up by 4. That lead either sat steady or grew by a few points for most of the set until Tech closed it to 22-20 towards the end.
 
At that point, UP's defense came to the rescue with some great net defense. Senior middle blocker Josee Pendleton paired with Brown and Andersen to block Tech on back-to-back plays. That got UP to set point, and once again Milan finished the set with a kill.
 
UP looked poised to cruise to a straight set victory in the third set. A big 7-0 run early in the set, had the Lady Argos ahead 13-5 and that lead continued until the team held match point at 24-17.
 
As in the first set, the Lady Argos struggled to close. Tech rallied off the next 4 points and had the crowd nervous with score at 24-21, but an Oredigger hitting error ended the suspense and gave UP a straight set win.
 
"That was an unorthodox way to win a set, but any time you beat a ranked team on your home court you're happy," Duda said.
 
UP hit .226 as a team, its best percentage since a September 29 victory of Lewis-Clark State College. The Lady Argos also finished with 23 total blocks, its highest total in a three set match all year.
 
While it was senior night, it was the team's freshman had some of the best performances. Brown and Andersen tied for the team lead with 10 kills each and also combined for 7 block assists.
 
Freshman setter led the team with 18 assists and came 1 dig shy of a double-double, finishing with 9.
 
UP's top blocker in the match was a senior, with Pendleton tallying 6 block assists. She was closely followed by freshman middle blocker Ember Schwindt who had 5 block assists.
 
The Lady Argos go to 19-9 (6-5) on the season with one regular season match left, a road contest against Lewis-Clarke State College on November 4. UP currently sits in fourth in the Frontier Conference standings. 
 
While the Lady Argos are fourth in the standings, the team has now split the season series against each of the three teams ahead them.