WHITEFISH, Mont. – Two volleyball players from the University of Providence were named the Frontier Conference Player of the Week on Monday.
Renae Davis was named the Attacker of the Week, while
Cydney Finberg-Roberts was named the Setter of the Week.
This is the first Player of the Week award in the career of
Renae Davis. On Friday's five-set victory over Montana Western, Davis led the Argos with 19 kills and .471 hitting percentage. She recorded 11 kills and .320 hitting percentage in the Argos straight-set victory on Saturday.
The award is even more impressive considering the fact that Davis was recruited as a setter for the Argos, and has since transitioned to middle blocker for the Argos this season.
"A setter transitioning into the middle just shows what kind of kid she is," head coach
Arunas Duda said. "What a great recognition and it's truly deserving for a kid that has a great work ethic. She just played so smart this weekend. She calms everyone down on the court. She's just one of those kind of kids that's up for any challenge that you could give her. She's just such a great athlete that she's able to transition into that role so well."
Finberg-Roberts adds to her award-winning season, claiming her fourth Setter of the Week award this year. She recorded 63 assists and was a massive reason why the Argos were able to get past the Bulldogs during Friday's five-setter, and followed that up with 43 assists on Saturday. She also was active defensively, recording 20 digs between the two matches.
"She did a really nice job of changing our offense around when we struggled and things weren't working," Duda said. "She brought our hitters in when they were getting blocks on the pin. She pushed them out when they were getting stops on the middle. She just had really good recognition of what the other side of the net was doing. It was something that she's struggled with in the past and this year is doing really well."
At the mid-point of the season, the Argos have had four different players win conference honors. Duda credits the versatility to the athleticism and coachability the players have.
"We like to find really good athletes that are really good people that have all those intangibles so that we can plug them in anywhere and they'll perform and do well," he said. "I think that's a big part of it is just finding the right kids that go into our programs. They're working hard and taking care of the rest. It's pretty fun. It's fun to coach and reteach someone a position or make adjustments and have the kids be able to do the adjustments. That's not always the case and it's just so fun to see these kids adjust on the fly."
The Argos (8-2, 8-2) will take on Carroll in a double-header this weekend. They'll take on the Fighting Saints (7-3, 5-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday, and 1 p.m. on Saturday.