GREAT FALLS — A 31-2 record. Regular-season and conference tournament champions. Four players named to first-team All-Frontier Conference. Being ranked No. 1 in the country for two weeks.
These are just some of the accomplishments Providence volleyball has piled up throughout its historic season thus far. And the Argos are now looking to achieve more.
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Two of the aforementioned first-team all-conference members are setter Bella Thompson — who won conference player of the year and setter of the year for a second consecutive season — and middle blocker Sadie Giles.
"We have the talent and we have the players to get things done," Thompson said at UP's McLaughlin Center on Tuesday. "We have been blessed to have so much talent on our team, and it's just amazing to see that four of our girls made it on the first-team all-conference team."
"I love the girls," Giles said. "The girls know how to work and it's just a really tight knit group and we're willing to work hard, and do it with fun, and we love each other."
White Sulfur Springs product Cabry Taylor and Bella Green were also named to the first-team All-Frontier. Additionally, Arunas Duda won his fifth Frontier coach of the year award.
"It's definitely an award based off of their performance, so I really appreciate that," Duda said. "But Sacha (Simmons, Providence assistant coach) and I both put in a tremendous amount of time and effort in to it. And so, it's always nice to be recognized for that. It's a nice bonus.
"We're really pleased that the kids got credit for everything, for all the work that they put in."
After being ranked No. 2 in the final NAIA volleyball coaches poll Nov. 12, Providence was selected at the No. 6 overall seed Monday for the national tournament.
"We were pretty disappointed in moving down four spots," Duda said. "I think it puts a little chip on our shoulder which might be a little extra fuel and what we needed to get going."
"We just need to come out and play with the same fire and energy that we have been playing with all season," Thompson said. "Sticking to out game plan that our coaches provide for us and just trusting each other.
"No. 6 don't mean anything."
"Either way, we have to win every game here on out and either way we're going to get in the gym and we're going to work hard," Giles said. "It doesn't matter where we are. Yes, we would like to have been higher than that, but it definitely lights a fire under us."
Providence begins play in the NAIA national tournament at home Saturday at 6 p.m. as the Argos welcome in Northwest University (Wash.). The winner advances to the final site in Sioux City, Iowa.
