Great Falls, Mont. – The McLaughlin Center will feature another big-time matchup Thursday night, as the 20^th ranked University of Providence women's volleyball team will take on the 18^th ranked Rocky Mountain College, the lone undefeated conference team.

Rocky Mountain College (4-0, 12-5) jumped the Argos in the NAIA National Coaches' Poll that was released on Wednesday. Both teams placed behind Montana Tech, who came in at 16^th. No other Frontier Conference school received votes.

The upcoming matchup provides another chance for the Argos to make a statement at home. After dropping a heartbreaking loss to Montana Tech in their home opener, Providence (3-1, 13-2) rebounded by winning three straight road matches without dropping a set.

"I think sometimes a loss can be a good thing," head coach Arunas Duda said. "I don't think we were working as hard as we should have been in the gym during practice. I think we started losing our focus a little bit and getting complacent. That loss opened things up and reminded us that we needed to work a little bit harder. Since then the girls have done a great job of responding and changing their mindset. It put a little chip on their shoulder. The past three road games the girls have gone in really focused and responded incredibly well."

The Argos know they'll have a tough one on their hand as they return home. They'll face off against Rocky Mountain, who is coming off a straight-set victory against Montana Tech, the team that humbled the Argos to start conference play.

"We are ready to right the ship," Duda said. "After the first home game we felt that we kind of blew an opportunity. We're excited to get back home and show the fans how we really play, because we didn't play our best and we all know it. They're excited to come back and play well."

Rocky Mountain leads the conference in hitting percentage (.201), total digs (1270) and digs per set (20.2). The Argos lead in kills per set (13.0) and are second in digs per set (19.7).

 "Rocky is not going to make a ton of mistakes," Duda said. "They're a team that really controls the ball. They don't make a lot of errors. They force you to win every point. If we can take care of the ball on our side, we can really control the tempo and set the pace a little bit. We just have to make sure that we're confident in what we're doing."

Over the three-game winning streak, the Argos have utilized a balanced attack to keep defenses on their toes, with six players recording over 15 kills during the road trip. Senior Kelsey Shaver continues to lead the conference in kills per set (4.0).

"Having a balanced attack is such an advantage," Duda said. "We've been able to do that the last couple of matches. We've been moving the ball very well. The connections are getting better, the chemistry is getting better, the trust is getting better. We're really excited about the development that they've gone through."

Duda said this strategy is possible because of the talent of his two setters, Renae Davis and Cydney Finberg-Roberts.

"Both setters are both so vastly different with their styles," Duda said. "You have Renae that's a fantastic athlete that just makes these incredible plays. Then you have Finberg who's done an amazing job as well. Her defense has really picked up and she just understands the offense so well and moves the ball incredibly. We have two different styles and it's hard for other teams to catch up too. It's nice to have that two-headed attack."

The game will also serve as Hawaiian Night for the volleyball team. Spectators are highly encouraged to dress in their best island attire. 

 "It's kind of ironic with all the snow on the ground that we're doing Hawaiian Night," Duda joked. "We couldn't have asked for perfect timing there."