Box Score UP Sports Information
Butte, Mont. - The 10th ranked University of Providence volleyball team opened up the season Thursday afternoon in Butte falling to #5 Midland at the Big Sky Volleyball Challenge in straight sets 25-23, 25-21, 25-18. The Argos never trailed by more than 3 points, but couldn't muster enough down the stretch in dropping the game. For the set, the Argos were out-hit .125 to .113. Sophomore Taylor Christensen says there were a little bit of nerves at the start, "I think we were pretty excited, and maybe a little nervous and anxious, it was a close game most of the way but we kind of fell off in that 3rd set."
In the second set, Providence took an early lead thanks in part to the play of Madyson Hoerner and Jenna Thorne, but a 12-10 lead on some unforced errors and the efficiency of the Warriors led to Midland earning the comeback victory. Providence hit .000 with The 3rd set saw Midland pull away from a tight first half to secure the sweep. Head coach Arunas Duda said despite the loss, he saw some good things, "I think we went into this match not knowing what to expect from our group, so many new components and people in different places. Midland is a solid team front row, back row with an All-American at setter. I'm very pleased with how we showed up today."
Newcomer Bella Thompson from Hawaii stepped into the setters role for the Argos and led the team with 20 assists, while Jensyn Turner returned with 10 kills. Christensen paced the way with 15 digs. Zoe Naugle added 3 solo blocks and 2 assisted blocks. Senior Adysen Burns says it was a disappointing loss, but a good way to start the season, "It's great to come out with great competition the first game because you're only going to grow from it, I think it was a really good matchup playing a ranked team and one we can compete with. Yeah, we lost but we learned a lot from it so that's a win in my book."
The Argos finished the match with 26 kills on 87 attacks for a .080 hitting percentage however, 19 errors, mostly unforced were a nemesis.
Providence (0-1) will next turn its attention to Bushnell University from Eugene, Oregon at 11 AM Friday and Duda says the Beacons are yet another good team, "You get a lot of ball control, a very fluid team, very good libero and big dynamic hitters. They are pretty similar to what we saw today, maybe not quite at that level yet."
The Argos matches the next 2 days of the Big Sky Challenge will be held at the Maroon Activity Center in Butte. Providence plays Northwest University Friday at 3 PM before closing the tournament Saturday against Vanguard, (Calif.) at 11 AM.
Stream all three matches at www.upargos.com.
