BUTTE, Mont. – The University of Providence volleyball team (21-9) is playing in the championship match of the Frontier Conference Tournament as they defeated No. 3 seed Montana Tech (17-15) in four sets, 3-1.
 
University of Providence 3 – Montana Tech 1
 
The first set opened with a back-and-forth between the Argos and the Orediggers as they tied four times headed to a 9-9 tie. A kill from Kelsey Shaver sparked three straight points from the Argos, 12-9. The Orediggers responded with two of their own, but the Argos continued to lay it on as Sydney Andersen collected two kills and an Oredigger attack error pushed the Argos lead to four, 15-11. Tech got two back to cut the deficit in half, 15-13, but a 6-2 Argo run gave the Argos a six-point advantage, 21-15. The Orediggers outscored the Argos 7-5 to close out the set, but it wasn't enough as Providence claimed the early lead, 25-22.
 
The Argos took a 4-2 lead early in the second, but the Orediggers tallied a kill and a service ace to even things at four. An error for both sides moved the game to a 5-5 tie, but the Argos then outscored the Orediggers 7-2 to give the Argos a five-point lead, 12-7. Both squads battled to an 18-14 Argo advantage. The Argos would then take five unanswered, but the Orediggers followed with four of their own to close close the deficit to five, 23-18. However, the Argos claimed a kill from Sydney Andersen and a Tech error to take the 2-0 advantage, 25-18.
 
The third set was controlled early by the Orediggers as they had a 7-4 run to take the early lead. Two Montana Tech errors and a service ace tied up the match at 7. The Orediggers tallied three to the Argos two to give the Orediggers a one-point edge. Tech maintained their advantage through the rest of the set as Tech would prevent the sweep by taking the set 25-21.
 
A Shaver kill opened up the third and sparked a 3-1 Argo run to put the Argos on top first. Tech then tallied three unanswered to take the advantage, 4-3, but the Argos eventually tied things up at four and then again at six. The Orediggers and Argos traded points to push the game to an 8-8 tie. The two squads battled evenly with the Argos taking the slight advantage, 12-11, to lead late in the set, 20-19. Two kills from Andersen and Lauren Brown and three Tech attack errors gave the Argos five straight to close out the match and seal the win for the Argos, 25-19.
 
Shaver led the way for the Argos with a match-high 22 kills, in addition to 19 digs and three service aces. Paige Jensen was the Argos digging leader with 20 digs, while also leading the team in assists with 28. Ember Schwindt was a threat at the net, collecting a game-high six blocks.
 
Up Next
The Argos will take on the Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears in the championship match at 7 p.m.