BUTTE, Mont. – The University of Providence volleyball team fell at Montana Tech, 1-3, in its Frontier Conference opener Thursday night at the Butte Civic Center in Butte, Montana.
 
The Argos (8-5, 0-1) battled the Orediggers to a 1-1 draw through two sets, but the Argos were unable to keep up in the final two stanzas as the Orediggers (9-6, 1-0) claimed the 23-25, 25-20, 12-25, 20-25 decision.
 
University of Providence 1 – Montana Tech 3
 
In the opening set, the Argos led for most of it as Providence held a 12-10 lead, but the Orediggers responded with an 8-1 run to produce their largest lead of the set. The Argos then countered with a carbon copied 8-1 run of their own to bring the game back to a two-point Argo lead, 21-19. The Orediggers' Heather Thompson and Genesis Keith closed things out with some hot hitting in a 6-2 run to take the first set, 23-25.
 
The second set opened with a 4-2 Argo lead, but it was short-lived as the Orediggers would take the lead back to make it, 4-7. The Argos battled to bring the match to a 15-15 tie. The game would eventually still be tied at 19-19, but a few errors from the Orediggers and kills from Kelsey Shaver and Isabelle Parker ended the second set as the Argos would tie things up, 1-1.
 
The Orediggers controlled the opening part of the third set as they took an 8-1 lead to open the set. The Argos would try to close the gap as they brought it to a five-point deficit at 11-16, but the Orediggers went on a 7-0 run following a service error to push the game to 11-23. The deficit proved to be too much as the Orediggers claimed the third set, 12-25.
 
Providence came out firing in the fourth set to take a quick 8-4 lead. The Argos would maintain the lead for a little more than half the set before the Orediggers would tie things up at 14. The Orediggers maintained their momentum to outscore the Argos, 9-3, to push the set to 17-23. A kill from Sydney Andersen and an attack error from the Orediggers would notch two more for the Argos, but it just wasn't enough as Montana Tech would take the deciding set, 20-25.
 
Junior Kelsey Shaver tied an Oredigger for a match-high 18 kills, while senior Melissa Gonzalez was the other Argo in double-digits with 10 kills. Senior Paige Jensen had 29 assists. On the defensive end, Averi Dyer notched 21 digs, while Shaver tallied 18. Junior Lauren Brown and sophomore Ember Schwindt both tallied four blocks, while freshman Cameron Davies garnered three.
 
Up Next
The Argos return home as they host Lewis-Clark State in a Saturday night matchup on September 15 in the McLaughlin Center.