BUTTE, Mont. -- The No. 19-ranked Montana Tech volleyball team celebrated Senior Night with a 18-25, 25-18, 25-22, 25-22 win over No. 13 Providence Saturday evening on Kelvin Sampson Court, moving the Orediggers into a three-way tie atop the Frontier Conference standings.

Junior Kinnidi Willmore led the Oredigger attack Saturday, collecting 18 kills, while senior Olivia LaBeau contributed 15 kills and a pair of blocks for Montana Tech (16-8, 8-3 Frontier).

Providence began the match hot, breaking a 6-6 tie in the first set with eight straight points and cruising to a win in the opener.

Then the Orediggers woke up. Tech started the second set with a 6-1 run and led wire to wire, bolstered by five kills apiece from Willmore and LaBeau in the chapter.

The third saw the visiting Argos out front early, 12-7, before Montana Tech again took over. A LaBeau kill got the Diggers some momentum, and Tech stormed back to take the lead 18-16 by means of a 6-0 run. Providence fought back to knot the set at 18 apiece, but a pair of late kills by Willmore and a Piper Jette block gave the hosts a two sets to one advantage headed to the fourth.

Tied at 4-4 in the early part of the fourth, Montana Tech began to take control midway through. A 4-1 run forced a Providence timeout with the score 12-8 in the Diggers' favor, and the teams traded points until the late going. A pair of kills from graduate student Alexis Umland put Tech on match point before fellow graduate student Megan Benton spiked a kill to give the hosts the victory at 25-22.

Jette led the Orediggers at the net with six blocks, and sophomore setter Rhys Layton dished out 52 assists to top the 50-helper plateau for the third-straight match. Graduate student Jelena Jablanov anchored the back row with a match-best 30 digs, and freshmen Brooklynn Hayes and Austin Long had 13 digs apiece.

Ryann Eddins led UP (19-6, 8-3) with 12 kills and two blocks.

Prior to the match, Montana Tech honored its five soon-to-be graduates — Umland, Jablanov, Mayson Moore, LaBeau, and Benton.

Montana Tech's volleyball team will continue its Frontier Conference homestand with a Wednesday date against archrival Carroll College in the HPER Complex. The match is set for 7 p.m.

Visit Montana Tech athletics' home online, GoDiggers.com, anytime for up-to-the-minute news and coverage of the Orediggers. Give Montana Tech athletics a like on Facebook, and follow the Orediggers on X at @MTechDiggers.