Jason Walker, UP Sports Information Director
Great Falls, Mont. - The conference portion of the 2022 schedule did not get started the way the University of Providence volleyball team was looking for as Montana Tech picked up a 3-1 win last Friday night. Jenna Thorne and Adysen Burns led the way in that loss to the Orediggers with 13 kills apiece. The Frontier loss was the first in league play for the Argos dating back to a five-set loss during the 2020-2021 season to Rocky Mountain College. The Argos had won 26 regular season conference matches before the loss to Tech. Providence will get a chance to right the ship Wednesday night when the Argos travel to Havre to take on MSU-Northern.
In addition to Thorne and Burns, one player that has seen her level of play rise is Zoe Naugle. The junior from Castle Rock, Wash., has elevated not only her defensive blocking but also on the offensive side of the ball. Coming off 11 blocks two weeks ago against the Skylights in Billings at the Frontier preseason tourney, Naugle had five kills and six blocks against the Orediggers. Head Coach Arunas Duda says getting comfortable with new setter Bella Thompson has been instrumental, "The connection with her setter (Thompson) has been much better. They had a good conversation in Billings. From there, we have done a lot of reps between the two of them. I think having one setter for Zoe certainly helps a little bit because it is one style, so she has adjusted well to that. She has a really good drive and a really good motor and she wants to win. So, she has been leading us physically and getting a lot of good stops for us."
Two weeks ago in Billings, Providence was able to get past MSU-Northern in four sets, but Wednesday is different. It is conference and means a little more. Plus, the match will be played at the Armory Gymnasium, not on a neutral court. That is something the coaching staff has been focusing on this week says Duda, "That is exactly everything we have talked about. We did not play our best volleyball (Friday) and we know what we need to continue to improve on. We are not looking past Northern at all. We know they are a quality team; we know Havre is a tough place to play and they will be ready to play us. They will adjust to what we are doing and make it tough every point, we have to do the same."
The match Wednesday starts at 7 PM and can be viewed along with live stats at www.upargos.com.
