(Editor's note: University of Providence media release)
GREAT FALLS – For the fourth time this season, the University of Providence volleyball team completed a clean sweep of the Frontier Conference player of the week awards. Cydney Finberg-Roberts was named the setter of the week, Sacha Legros was named the defender of the week and Sadie Lott was named the attacker of the week.
"It's fun to keep winning these accolades," head coach Arunas Duda said. "It does not get old. We're truly, truly fortunate to receive this recognition, especially in a year where we didn't know what was going to happen. It's exciting every time they get it. They're great kids. They always get shy and kind of blush about them. I think it's awesome that they keep getting those awards."
By receiving the recognition this week, Finberg-Roberts has now won a total of seven setter of the week awards. In Friday's win over Montana State-Northern, she recorded 43 assists, eight digs and three blocks. On Saturday, she had 34 assists, 10 digs and two blocks. She is currently ranked third in the nation in assists per game (11.8) and fifth in total assists (860).
A lot of the credit for her numbers involve her rigorous preparation throughout the week, Duda said.
"We watched a lot of film leading up to the games and wanted to see how Northern was going to respond," he said. "Credit to her, she studied really well and knew what to expect and attacked some of the weaknesses that we thought we saw on film. She's been doing a great job preparing for matches and just feels comfortable and confident when she steps on the court. She's done a great job."
With this week's award Legros now has a total of four defender of the week awards. She led the team in digs both games this weekend, with 32 on Friday and 26 on Saturday. Legros currently leads the nation in digs per set (7.4) and is 11th in total digs (541).
The Argos (16-2 overall, 16-2 Frontier Conference) clearly benefit from her strong defensive play, but even more important, according to the coaching staff, is her contagious competitive drive.
"Not only does she have great touch on the ball, but also her mindset is so strong," Duda said. "She refuses to lose. She's so competitive. She has a balance between being light-hearted and fun and knowing when to flip the switch and get after it. She's all you can ask for in a libero for sure."
Lott has now been named the attacker of the week five times on the season and the third week in a row. The Idaho Falls freshman recorded 12 kills on a .440 hitting percentage on Friday night, while also contributing defensively with 17 digs. She notched a team-high 11 kills on Saturday, along with 18 digs and five blocks.
"She does not play like a freshman," Duda said. "She's very mature in her approach. She's doing a great job of continuously moving around on offense and finding seams to hit through and we're finding her on those. She's doing a great job."
The Argos will wrap up the regular season this weekend with two games against Montana Western. It's a big weekend for the team, as the Argos need just one win to clinch an outright regular-season Frontier Conference championship.
"I'm really excited," Duda said. "We continue to do the right things. Our girls are putting themselves in a great situation on game days. I couldn't be happier with the way we approached last week. We had great practices leading up to competition. We just need to replicate that this week."
