SIOUX CITY, Iowa – The most prolific season in program history came to an end on Thursday, as the #5 University of Providence volleyball team fell to #4 Park University (22-25, 19-25, 25-19, 18-25) in the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Volleyball Championship at the Tyson Events Center in Sioux City, Iowa. 

"This one was tough," head coach Arunas Duda said. "We had some opportunities. We played hard. You never want to lose."

The loss marks the end of an historic season for the Argos, in which the team won their pool at the National Championship and played in their first quarterfinal game in program history. The team broke the program record for wins in a season at 28. Those 28 games includes a streak of 21 straight wins, breaking last year's 20-game winning streak record. Those win streaks included an undefeated conference season, with the team winning the Frontier Conference regular season championship and the Frontier Conference Tournament Championship. 

The Argos (28-3) jumped out to a quick 4-2 lead in the first set Thursday night, but the Pirates (33-2) rattled off six straight to make it 8-4. The Argos responded with four points of their own to tie it up. The two teams went back and forth for the remainder of the set, eventually settling at 22-all. The Pirates won the next three straight points to take the first set 25-22.

That momentum carried over into the second set, with the Pirates jumping out to a quick lead and never looking back, winning the second set 25-19 to take a 2-0 lead. 

"They got out to a hot start," Duda said. "We had a hard time catching up to their strength. They hammered some balls at us. We were a little nervous, a little passive to get going."

The Argos settled into their game in the third set, maintaining a small lead for a majority of the game. Up 20-19, the squad rattled off five straight points to take the third set and extend the game.

"Once we got rid of the nerves and got back to our speed, our mentality and our comfort level, then we started to do some nice things," Duda said. "The problem was it was about a set and a half too late. The game plan was working, some key points just went the wrong way."

The two teams battled fiercly in the fourth set, but a seven-point Pirate run that extended the lead to 17-7 crippled the Argos. They made a late push, but couldn't overcome the Pirate attack, falling 25-18 and thus ending the team's historic season.

"I told them I was proud of them," Duda said. "It was an amazing season and a heck of a year. We ran into an opponent today that was better than us tonight. You can't hang your heads on something like that. We're proud of our seniors and proud of the girls that kind of paved the way for this. It always leaves you hungry for more. We want to remember this and come back here next year."

Sadie Lott led the way for the Argos, recording a team-high 17 kills while Jenna Thorne added 11. Defensively, the team recorded 26 blocks, led by Lott's seven and Zoe Naugle's six. Sacha Legros led the team in digs, recording 25, while Cydney Finberg-Roberts and Taylor Christensen recorded 11 and 10, respectively.

"We tried to get the ball to Sadie a bunch tonight," Duda said. "She really stepped up. She had a really phenomenal game both offensively and defensively. She had some big blockers on her all night and she still found a way. She did a nice job."

The loss also marks the end of the career for two Argo legends in Finberg-Roberts and Legros. Finberg-Roberts ended her career in historic fashion, recording 37 assists to break her own single season program record for assists in a season, finishing with 1,163 assists on the year. She will end her career with 3,617 assists, nearly 1,300 assists of the second place record holder in the Argo record books. Legros, who broke the program record for career digs in just two and a half seasons earlier this season, finished with 1,995 career digs.

"Those two kids are legitimately program changers," Duda said. "They've taken us to such a high-level. They're the greatest kids off the court as well. Honestly I couldn't ask for anything more of those two. I'm incredibly proud of what they put into it and what they sacrificed to be here. They'll go down as two of the best to have ever played in this program and certainly are two kids that we'll maintain a relationship with for years to come. They're just awesome kids."