GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- The 19th-ranked Montana Tech volleyball team closed the regular season with a 25-18, 25-16, 25-22 loss at the hands of No. 14 Providence Saturday on the road.

The defeat snapped Montana Tech's six-match win streak.

The Orediggers received a 16-kill effort from Kinnidi Willmore, and three Tech players — Jelena Jablanov, Malia Harris, and Brooklynn Hayes — reached double-digit digs, highlighted by Jablanov's 14. Rhys Layton made 32 assists.

Tech fell behind early in the first set, coming out on the wrong end of an 8-3 run to start the match. But the Orediggers battled back quickly, and back-to-back Willmore kills gave the visitors a 17-16 lead. Providence regained its composure, though, and finished the set on a 9-1 run.

The second was tight in the early going, but UP again put together a run, this one a 7-2 rip, to take control.

In the third, it was the Orediggers' turn. Tech started the set with an 8-3 advantage to force a Providence timeout. UP raced back to take an 11-10 lead, and the teams were locked in a dogfight from there on. Emmy Green's ace put the Diggers ahead, 15-13, but the Argos responded again and pushed ahead 17-16 never to trail again.

Montana Tech (19-9, 11-4 Frontier Conference) will carry the second seed into this coming weekend's conference tournament. Providence (23-6, 12-3) won the top seed with Saturday's win. The chase for the Frontier trophy begins Friday at MSU-Northern's Armory Gymnasium in Havre. The league office will announce full pairings and match times in the coming days.

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