BILLINGS, Mont. — For the second straight evening, the Battlin' Bears ended up on the wrong side of a back-and-forth battle, falling to No. 7-ranked Providence in four sets.
Junior Sadie Meier delivered another standout performance, setting a career high for the second consecutive night with 15 kills.
How it happened
Neither team created much separation early in the opening set, with an Argo service error tying the score at 10-10. No. 7 University of Providence then demonstrated its offensive firepower with a 12-2 surge, turning a deadlocked frame into a 10-point lead. Billings West graduate Sadie Meier sparked a furious Rocky comeback, racking up six kills during a 10-2 rally to bring the Battlin' Bears within striking distance, but the Argos answered with the set-deciding kill to claim the opener 25-22.
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Providence carried that momentum into the second set, using four straight points to build an early 10-4 cushion. Rocky responded with a match-altering run of its own behind strong play from Olivia Fauth, who both started and capped a 7-0 spurt, as the Battlin' Bears erased the deficit to take a 20-16 advantage. The Argos trimmed the lead to two, but Kaitlyn Wood delivered a key block and kill to secure Rocky's 25-22 set victory.
The third set featured continuous back-and-forth action, with another Sadie Meier kill tying the frame at 10-10. Mirroring the opener, Providence seized control mid-set with a 9-3 run to build a six-point cushion. Once again, it was Sadie Meier who ignited the comeback, hammering three consecutive kills and capping a 9-3 Rocky counter-run with a block to bring the Bears within one at 21-20. Three straight Argo points pushed Providence to set point, and despite a late push from Rocky, the Argos closed out the frame 25-23.
The Battlin' Bears grabbed a 13-11 lead midway through the fourth set following a block from Wood. However, Providence answered with the match-defining stretch, orchestrating an 8-2 run to take a 19-15 lead before closing out the set 25-21 to wrap up the four-set win.
Notable statistics
One night after setting a career high, junior Sadie Meier raised the bar again with a team-leading 15 kills while hitting .262. Amelia Kisiel added eight kills and three blocks, while Kaitlyn Wood recorded five kills and five total blocks. Rylee McMillan and Kristyn Mentink dished out 19 assists apiece. Mentink added 13 digs to complete a double-double, while libero Zoey Albert anchored the defense with a team-high 24 digs.
Providence hit .201 as a team compared to Rocky's .128 and held a 64-43 advantage in total kills. The Battlin' Bears tied a season high with nine total blocks and benefited from 14 Argo service errors.
Martyna Fiedler led the Argos with 13 kills.
