DES MOINES, Iowa – The University of Providence volleyball team closed out the Grand View Tournament with a pair of straight-set victories to finish the weekend 3-1.
 
University of Providence 3 – Olivet Nazarene 0
 
The Argos began day two of the Grand View Tournament with a dominant straight-set victory over the Olivet Nazarene Tigers.
 
Providence started off strong as Tigers' errors and a kill and service ace from Kelsey Shaver put the Argos up early, 9-1. The Tigers went on a run to bring the lead down to seven, 15-8, but shortly after the Argos went on a run of their own run to outscore the Tigers, 8-4, pushing the lead to double digits, 23-12. Olivet Nazarene tried to rally to score seven, but the Argos were too far ahead as they tacked on the two remaining points to take the opening set, 25-19.
 
The Argos maintained the momentum in the second set as Providence grabbed a 12-4 lead. The Argos continued to outscore the Tigers as they tacked on seven more through a pair of kills, two service aces, and a few Olivet Nazarene errors to push the lead to double digits, 19-8. The Tigers tried to get back within striking distance as they had a 9-3 run in their favor, but the Argos tallied three unanswered points at the end of the set to shut down the Tigers run and take the 2-0 advantage.
 
The Tigers put up a fight in the third period as they outscored the Argos 5-7 to take the early lead. The Argos rallied to retake the lead, 12-9, but the Tigers tacked on four more from two kills and two Argo attack errors to retake the lead, 12-13. The Argos kicked it into gear for the remainder of the match as they outscored the Tigers, 13-4, to close out the deciding set and grab the 3-0 victory.
 
Shaver and Lauren Brown led the team offensively scoring nine kills each, while Shaver also tallied three blocks and two service aces. Isabelle Parker also tallied three blocks against the Tigers. Defensively, Averi Dyer tallied a match-high 26 digs and Jensen garnered 18 assists. From the service line, Sara Tarum led the team with four service aces during the three-set match.
 
University of Providence 3 – Saint Ambrose University 0
 
Providence finished their day just as it began, with a straight-set victory over the Saint Ambrose University Fighting Bees.
 
The Argos struck first and continued to outscore the Fighting Bees as they took a 7-5 lead. Saint Ambrose shortly after closed the deficit to tie things up at nine before taking the lead, 11-14. The Argos would eventually tie up the match at 16, followed by two more ties at 17 and 18 all. Both squads then traded five point runs to push the match to 23 each, but a service error and a kill from Brown sealed the deal to end the set for the Argos, 25-23.
 
The second set opened up to a 5-1 Argo lead, followed shortly by a 4-0 run from the Fighting Bees to tie things up at five. Both squads traded points back-and-forth as there were eight tied leading to an 18-18 standstill. However, the Argos found more success in the latter part of the set to outscore Saint Ambrose, 7-4, to take the 2-0 lead.
 
The third set played out much like the second as both teams played to a 9-9 tie to open the set. The Argos and Fighting Bees traded points to each tack on four and push the tie to 13-13. The Argos would retake the lead from two kills and two attack errors before the Fighting Bees would tally three to bring the deficit down to one, but another Saint Ambrose attack error and a kill from Shaver sparked a 9-4 Argo run to push the game to set point. The Fighting Bees attempted to rally as they tacked on four unanswered, but one final Shaver kill was all the Argos needed to take the deciding third set, 25-22.
 
Shaver led the Argos with a team-high 14 kills, in addition to garnering three blocks. Dyer dominated things on the defensive end, earning a match-high 20 digs. Jensen garnered 19 assists in the win as well.
 
Up Next
The Argos will remain on the road as they head to Lewiston, Idaho on October 19 to play the Lewis-Clark State Warriors at 7 p.m.