GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The #9 University of Providence volleyball team hopes to build on their 12-game winning streak this week in their two road games against Montana-State Northern on Wednesday and Montana Western on Friday. Both games will begin at 7:00 p.m.

The Argos (19-2, 6-0) are coming off their fifth victory over a ranked opponent on the year, after taking down #17 Montana Tech Friday night in the McLaughlin Center. The team got punched in the mouth initally, dropping the first set 25-11 before responding to take down the Orediggers in five sets.

"They raised the bar and we weren't ready for it in that first set," head coach Arunas Duda said. "I do think we responded well and I was pleased with how we battled and grinded that match out. But certainly it was kind of an eye-opening experience knowing that we have to play at a higher level."

The Argos will travel to Havre, Mont. on Wednesday to take on the Skylights (12-11, 2-4), who are coming off a three-set sweep over Rocky Mountain College to move them to 4^th place in the Frontier Conference Standings. Their performance over the Battlin' Bears earned the Skylights two Player of the Week Awards this week: Emily Feller was named the Setter of the Week while Shania Neubauer was named the Defender of the Week.

"They're playing really well right now," Duda said. "They're a very disciplined team that has a lot of players playing their role significantly well. They can hurt you from a couple different standpoints. They have a strong middle, good six-rotation outsides and are very fundamentally sound. And Northern is always a very, very tough place to play. The lighting is different, the atmosphere is different. If we don't come ready to play our best volleyball, it's going to be a tough match."

The Argos will then head down south to Dillon, Mont. to take on the Bulldogs (8-10, 1-5). The Bulldogs have also improved since the last time the two teams met, beating Rocky Mountain College last week before narrowly losing to Carroll in five sets.

"They have all week to prepare for us," Duda said. "We're their first match on the week. Their focus, their scouting and all their details are going to be really, really on target for us. We're heading into enemy territory. That one is going to be a battle. That Western team is much improved since the last time we played. They can beat you a bunch of different ways."

The Argos though, know what they're capable of. They have been sound defensively, as they are ranked 3^rd in the nation in digs per set (20.2) and 6^th in the nation in blocks per set (2.9). The defense is anchored by Sacha Legros, who is currently 5^th in the nation in digs per set (6.15).

"We know that we have to raise the bar a little bit," Duda said. "Hopefully that Tech game was an eye-opening experience enough to give us a wake up call that we can't just waltz in to any match. We have to be mentally prepared to play our best volleyball."