Staff

Arunas Duda | Head Coach (18 Seasons as the University of Providence Head Coach)

Phone: (406) 781-8853
Email: arunas.duda@uprovidence.edu

Arunas Duda is entering is 21st year leading the University of Providence volleyball program. Duda was a member of the 2024 Argo Athletics Hall of Fame class that will be inducted over Argo Weekend.

As the second head coach in team history, Duda has seen the program grow from its infancy into a perennial contender in the Frontier Conference, the region, and nationally. Since taking the reins of the program, Duda has guided the Argonauts to 361 wins and 15 winning seasons, including nine 20-win campaigns He has twice won the University Staff Meritorious Award and was the 2017-2018 Frontier Conference NAIA Coach of Character award winner. Coach Duda has also been named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year three times, earning the honor in 2005, 2006 and 2020.

In 2021 Duda had his best finish in program history with a record of 28-3 and finished the season ranked fifth nationally. The Argos won their first two matches of the NAIA Naitonal Tournament before falling in the National Quarterfinals to Park University in four sets.

The 2020 season was Duda's most successful season at the time, leading his team to the program's first ever outright conference regular season championship and the team's third straight Frontier Conference Tournament Championship. The team finished 15th in the nation, defeating Olivet Nazarene in the opening round of the NAIA playoffs before traveling to Sioux City, Iowa for the NAIA National Tournament. The Argos defeated Viterbo in straight sets before falling to Jamestown in the Round of Sixteen.

He led the Argos to a 25-8 record the year before, a season which included a NAIA National Tournament appearance and a Frontier Conference Tournament Championship without dropping a set.

The Argos finished 23-11 in 2018, good enough for second place in the Frontier Conference regular season. They went on to win the Frontier Conference Tournament, earning the program's first bid to the NAIA National Tournament. The Argos won their final match of the tournament with a 3-0 decision of Milligan University which marked their first ever win at the National Tournament and a postseason ranking of #20 in the country. The Argos were also named 2018 Team Champion of Character at the National Tournament.

Since arriving at UP, Duda's success has been predicated on his ability to recruit and develop top-caliber athletes as well as his work in building lasting and meaningful relationships with his athletes. In his short time at UP, Duda has brought in many athletes that have received conference, regional, and national recognition. There have been 12 All-Americans, 30 All-Region players, 56 All-Conference players, and 18 All-Freshman players, one Conference and Regional Libero of the Year. In the classroom he has produced 58 academic all-region and 160 academic all-conference student athletes.

Duda came to the University of Providence after serving as the assistant volleyball coach at Santa Monica College in California for two seasons. Duda was a major contributor to the success of the SMC program during the 2002 and 2003 seasons. With him on the coaching staff, the team finished both seasons ranked in the top 15 of the state and made it to the second round of post-season play.

Prior to his stint at SMC, Duda was a volunteer assistant coach for the women's volleyball program at his alma mater, Santa Clara University. SCU made several NCAA post-season appearances in Duda's time with the program. Duda also developed strong California recruiting ties through four years of coaching the City Beach Club Team in San Jose, Calif.

As a player, Duda prepped at Loyola High School in Los Angeles. He was an All-American at the junior club level for team East Beach in Santa Barbara, Calif. He also won a gold medal and two silver medals at the Junior Olympics from 1994-1998.

Arunas and his wife Jennifer have two boys, Miles and Mace and reside in Great Falls where they are active members of their community.

Sacha Simmons | Assistant Coach

Sacha Simmons is entering her third-year coaching volleyball at the University of Providence. Simmons started coaching club volleyball at age 15 in Belgium and continued in the United States after playing at UP. Simmons was named the Frontier Conference Assistant Coach of the Year in 2023.

Sacha played 12 years in Belgium and was the captain of the Belgium National team for four years on her way to winning her first National Championship. She then came to the U.S. and started her collegiate career as the captain of the College of Southern Idaho. Simmons would lead her team to a runner-up finish and a National Championship in the two years she was there.

Following her success at CSI, she transferred to the University of Providence where she was first team all-conference and AVCA Northwest all-region team twice. In 2020 she was a honorable mention All-American leading the nation in digs per set (7.4) and was fifth in the nation in total digs (703).

Sacha is the current record holder for digs and digs per set in a season at Providence and helped the Argos end their 2021 season ranked fifth overall. In her collegiate career, she won five conference championships, five conference tournaments and appeared at the national tournament five years in a row.

Alexa Huff | Volunteer Assistant Coach

Alexa joined the University of Providence volleyball staff in the 2024 season. Alexa was the 2014 National Gatorade Player of the Year and was a Setter for Auburn University from 2014-2017. Alexa concluded her career with 4,721 assists to rank No. 1 in program history in the rally-scoring era. She became the first Tiger since 1998 to reach 4,500 career assists and her 10.24 assists/set average is sixth in Auburn program history and once again first in the rally-scoring era. Alexa holds the Top 4 spots in Auburn single-season history (rally-scoring only) - 1,227 (2016), 1,226 (2015), 1,175 (2014), 1,093 (2017). In addition, she holds the Top 4 spots in assists average as her 10.72 mark in 2017 is No. 1. Defensively, she is just the second setter in program history and first in rally-scoring only to reach 1,000 career digs and finished her career with 1,315 which ranks fourth in program history. Her 2.85 digs/set average for her career is seventh and in 2016, she reached 367 total digs which ranks 10th in single-season history.

Previous and Guest Speakers include:

Dave Gantt: Current Vice President for Athletics at the University of Providence. Former head coach at Gonzaga University, Montana State, Oregon State, and assistant for the U.S. Men’s National Team

Current and Former players of the University of Providence:

Kelsey Shaver – 1st team All-American in 2019 and 2nd team in 2018. Frontier Conference Player of the Year
Cydney Finberg-Roberts – 2021 Frontier Conference and NW Region Player and setter of the year, 2nd Team All-American
Sacha Legros – Led the nation in 2021 in digs per set with 7.5, 2021 All-American
Sadie Lott – 2021 Frontier Conference and NW Region Freshman of the Year, 2021 All-American