BUTTE, Mont. – In a big Top 25 showdown to open Frontier Conference play, the #10 University of Providence volleyball team took down the #15 Montana tech Orediggers in four sets Friday night. The Argos (14-2, 1-0) defeated the Orediggers (12-4, 0-1) 23-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-16.
"I was fired up after this one," head coach
Arunas Duda said. "It was great to finally have a game in conference. There was so much excitement around the game, the crowd was great tonight and it was just fun to be back in that element again. I thought our girls responded really well to it all."
The Argos jumped out to a quick start, jumping out to a 18-10 lead to start the match. The Orediggers stormed back however, tying it at 22 before eventually taking the first set. The Argos didn't waver, winning the next three sets to solidify the victory.
"They responded with a lot of maturity," Duda said. "It can be devastating to lose a set like that and really hard to bounce back from. They did a really nice job of keeping their nose down and working. I was really, really pleased with our response tonight."
Sadie Lott had a big game for the Argos, recording a double-double with 17 digs and a team-high 16 kills on a .333 hitting percentage.
Jenna Thorne added 10 kills,
Madysen Hoerner notched seven, while
Bailey Christensen recorded six.
NAIA National Setter of the Week Cydney Finberg-Roberts recorded 39 assists, 14 digs and two blocks on the evening.
Sacha Legros was her usual solid self on defense, recording a team-high 19 digs.
Adysen Burns recorded 16 digs, while defensive specialist
Taylor Christensen recorded 10.
Zoe Naugle was aggressive at the net, recording eight total blocks, while
Mariah Jardine recorded three.
Maureen Jessop led the Orediggers with 17 kills. McKenna Kaelber recorded 49 assists, while Sarah Hopcroft had 24 digs.
The Argos will see the court again next Wednesday, when they host Montana State-Northern in the team's first home game of the season. First serve will occur at 7:00 p.m.
"It's going to be so great to be in our own gym," Duda said. "It's going to be an exciting feeling. Our girls deserve it. I'm excited for them to get to play in front of a crowd again."
