Jason Walker, UP Sports Information Director
Great Falls, Mont. - The regular season ended Saturday for the University of Providence volleyball team with a 3-1 loss at home to Rocky Mountain College. The Battlin' Bears got the win with scores of 25-20, 19-25, 25-18, 25-21.
The first set was tied at 12-12 before Rocky would win 13 of the next 21 points to secure the set. In set two, Providence went on a 7-1 run at the end to even the match up at a set apiece.
With the score 14-10 Rocky in the third, Madeline Gilder helped reel off six straight points from her serve to make the score 21-10 and the Battlin' Bears would pick up the seven-point win. Set four was close throughout until Gilder again served two straight points to make the score 24-20. After a point from the Argos, Makenna Bushman ended the match with a kill.
Bushman led the way with 16 kills, Rhiannon Nez added 11 and Taylor Wolf had 10. Blythe Sealey added 41 assists with Ayla Embry having 15 digs.
Zoe Naugle led the Argos with 13 kills, Adysen Burns had 12 and Bailey Christensen 10. Taylor Christensen had 22 digs and Bella Thompson had 47 assists. Despite the loss, Head Coach Arunas Duda said there were positives to build on before next weekend's Frontier Conference tournament, "What we told them in the locker room was there was a lot of bright spots, things we're doing really well. We just continue to give up points in bunches and make some errors down the stretch.
"We will go back to practice Monday, clean it up in time for the tournament. I think we will put our best product on the court at tournament time, so I am excited for that."
Before the match, Providence honored four seniors, (Adysen Burns, Bailey Christensen, Jensyn Turner, and Cassi Kopsa) that have meant a lot to the program according to Duda, "All of our seniors mean so much to us and this program. There was no way I was going to make any changes tonight; they all earned their spot on the court. We are really happy for them."
Providence will next prepare for the Frontier Conference tournament which begins Friday at Butte. For more information, visit www.upargos.com.
