GREAT FALLS, Mont. – The University of Providence volleyball team were all over the Frontier All-Conference Awards, which were released Monday morning.

Setter Cydney Finberg-Roberts was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Year as well as the Setter of the Year, while Sadie Lott was named the Freshman of the Year. The duo were both named 1^st Team All-Conference along with Renae Davis and Sacha Legros. Jensyn Turner was named 2^nd Team All-Conference for the second straight season and Taylor Christensen was named to the All-Freshman Team. Rounding out the awards are the two members of the coaching staff. Head Coach Arunas Duda was named the Coach of the Year while assistant coach Drew Choules was named the Assistant Coach of the Year.

"I'm really excited for the kids," Duda said. "It's great recognition for our kids who have put in the work and earned it. We play our system really well and those kids fit into the system really well. Give the credit to them because they're performing. They're getting the job done. Beyond talent we're just really happy with the type of kids that we have. They love to work hard, they love to laugh, they're good teammates. They have all the intangibles you could ask for."

Finberg-Roberts was named the Frontier Conference Player of the Year, Setter of the Year and named 1^st Team All-Conference. It it the second straight year an Argo has won the award: Kelsey Shaver won it last season. Finberg-Roberts not only leads the conference in both assists (1019) and assists per set (11.8), but also ranks third in the nation in both categories. She was also named the Champion of Character for representing the five core values of NAIA athletics: integrity, respect, responsibility, sportsmanship and servant leadership.

"She's just a true leader," Duda said. "The Champion of Character award speaks to the person that she is. It's just awesome that a person who does the right things on and off the court and works hard to prepare for every match gets all this recognition. She has come a long way since the first time she's been here. She redshirted her first year because she was probably third on the depth chart and now she's leading our team and is one of the top kids in the country. That's pretty awesome."

Lott was also recognized extensively by the conference as she was named the Freshman of the Year and to the All-Freshman team. She played all six rotations for the Argos, averaging 3.8 kills per game, 4.1 digs per game and 0.7 blocks per game. In her debut season, she led the conference in total kills (323), was second in kills per set, fourth in hitting percentage (.256) and seventh in both blocks per set and total blocks (62).

"We knew we had something special when she came in," Duda said. "We knew that she was going to make an impact in our conference, we just didn't know that she'd be this mature and respond to everything as well as she has. She's been playing really well and consistently all season long. She's a great kid with great character but with a lot of push and a lot of fight. For a freshman to do what she's done while only playing conference games, that's pretty impressive."

Legros was also named to the 1^st Team All-Conference Team for the Argos. The libero leads the conference in digs (648) and digs per set (7.5), and also leads the entire country in digs per set (7.5).  

"She absolutely could have won Defender of the Year," Duda said. "I think she'll hopefully get some other postseason recognition as well because she did lead the country in digs per set. She means so much to our team. We're very defensive in our approach to things. We try to funnel the ball to her quite a bit. She does a really nice job of being in the right spot, reading things and just refuses to lose. Anytime you got that on the court as your defensive captain you're in a good spot. She has meant a lot to our success this year and we're so pleased with what she's done for us."

Davis was also named to the 1^st Team All-Conference team, which is even more impressive considering she changed positions at the beginning of the season. A setter her entire career, the coaching staff moved her to middle blocker before the season, forcing her to learn an entirely new position on the fly.

"She was a 5'7 setter that we asked to play middle for us in the preseason and now all of a sudden she's a 1^st Team All-Conference player in the middle," Duda said. "That is wild to say out loud. That just says a lot about her and her drive and her athleticism as well. It's unprecedented for a setter at 5'7 to transition into the middle as well as she did. She definitely earned that one, every bit of it."

Turner was named 2^nd Team All-Conference for the second year in a row. She was a major force on the right side, averaging 2.41 kills per game and totaling 71 blocks on the season.

"She helps us open up the middle because everyone that has seen her play knows that she's got a really strong arm and can hammer the ball," Duda said. "She does a great job and she's worked so hard for this. She opens a ton of things up in the middle for us because she's such a weapon on that right side."

Christensen was one of six freshman named to the Frontier Conference All-Freshman Team. She was a major defensive factor for the Argos, totaling double-digit digs for the Argos this season.  

"She's a kid that would probably step into a lot of programs and would be their starting libero," Duda said. "She took that role as a three-rotation defensive specialist and did it really well. Her serve is another weapon for us. She has really helped us out throughout the season."

Duda also took home some hardwood, being named the Frontier Conference Head Coach of the Year. This is the third time Duda has won the award, having previously done so in 2005 and 2006. He has led the team to a 20-2 record and led the team to both a conference regular season championship and the postseason championship. The team is also currently on a 18-game winning streak, the longest winning streak in school history. These feats are even more impressive considering the team didn't even get to campus until January, while the other teams in the conference had the entire fall to practice.

"It means a lot," Duda said. "For us not be in session in the fall and to keep our team together and grow really close during the offseason, it was a lot of work, and a lot of different work than we're used to. For us to be able to accomplish what we did this season, it reaffirms the fact that we did things the right way. It's a really nice surprise and very much appreciated."

Rounding out the Argo awards was assistant coach Drew Choules, who was named the Assistant Coach of the Year. This is the second straight postseason accolade for Choules, who was named the Northwest Region Assistant Coach of the Year last season.

"She's awesome," Duda said. "It's so well-deserved. She's like a second head coach for our program. She does so much behind the scenes work and getting everything organized. She's helped us win a lot of matches this year with her scouting reports and court intelligence. The girls absolutely love and respect her. She is very well-deserving."