News you can use
News you can use
The Havre High volleyball team was anxious to finally get back on the floor and compete this weekend. But facing a lot of tough competition in two days, it was the season opener the Blue Ponies were hoping for.
After a long offseason, and three solid weeks of practice, the Central A Ponies played 14 games to 25, and faced eight different opponents over the two-day road trip to open the season.
On Friday in Belgrade, the Ponies lost to the Belgrade Panthers in four games. The Panthers took the match with scores of 25-23, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-16. The Ponies also lost to the Livingston Rangers on Friday, as the Rangers took down HHS with scores of 25-17, 25-15 and 25-19.
Havre opened up the season by going 0-2 overall and in conference, but faced another tough field on Saturday at the Windy City Classic.
In pool play Saturday, the Ponies defeated Manhattan 25-15, Bridger 25-14 and Browning 25-19. But the Ponies also were also defeated by Lewistown 25-20, and defeated by Gardiner 25-22. In tournament play the Ponies knocked out Butte Central 25-19, but Belgrade knocked out the Ponies 25-22. The Ponies entered tournament play as the No. 3 team in their pool.
The biggest games of the weekend were on Friday, as the Ponies lost two matches to conference rivals.
"We have always had a rivalry with Belgrade," Havre High head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "And I think this year we will remain neck and neck with them. And Livingston took us off guard, but we saw the mistakes we made, and we definitely think we can beat them next time we see them.
"You could definitely tell that this was our first competition of the year," Skoyen added. "Both teams played us tough, but I also think we are putting a lot of pressure on ourselves because we do have so many returning starters. But Belgrade and Livingston are both strong teams and we didn't play our best. We made some adjustments and we already started playing better (on Saturday) at the Windy City Classic."
Hitting errors were the biggest factor in the two losses according to coach Skoyen. While some rust is to be expected, the Ponies were very inconsistent and hurt themselves more than the opposition. And the Ponies learned fast that you can't make those mistakes, especially playing teams like Belgrade and Livingston, who always house tough teams.
Facing the Panthers, the Ponies did have 26 kills, 13 assists, six aces, eight blocks and 74 digs. Lexi Olson had six kills, while Sarah Armstrong had five, but Armstrong also had two aces and four blocks. Peyton Fielius had all 13 assists, while Davee McLeod had two aces and Martha Stocker had three blocks. Brandy Lambourne also had 28 digs while Sadie Seidel had 18.
And against the Rangers, the Ponies had 17 kills, 14 assists, four aces, two blocks and 53 digs. Armstrong led with seven kills, while Seidel had five kills and two aces. Filius also had 14 assists, while Stocker and Olson each had one block, and Lambourne led with 21 digs.
Heading into Saturday, the Ponies did play better, but they still didn't get the results they wanted.
HHS finished third in their pool, but had the chance to take second, and even enter the tournament as a No. 1 seed. The Ponies led Gardner 19-15, but ended up with a 25-22 loss. It made the tournament road harder than it could have been for HHS. They still defeated Butte Central to knock them out of the running, but HHS fell to Belgrade again, this time being knocked out of the tournament themselves.
"With every game we got better," Skoyen said. "There were times where we finished well, but we still had inconsistencies and didn't finish well overall. If you can't finish, you aren't going to do well in these tournament situations where it is just one game to 25.
"But it was good for me too this weekend," Skoyen added. "I can evaluate the team better, and now I know we need more discipline. We need to learn to be winners, and not be content with not getting a lot of wins. We need to change our attitude. But we did get to face a lot of good teams this weekend, and we did improve in just one day."
Havre High returns to action Friday and Saturday at the Electric City Classic in Great Falls.
Friday
Belgrade def. Havre
25-23, 25-19, 22-25, 25-16
Belgrade – Kills 37 (Jordan Porter 11, Tanna Holliday 7); Assists 27 (Ali Weisz 13, Porter 12); Aces 8 (3 tied with 2); Blocks 12 (Taylor Woolman 3.5, Nicole Wass 3); Digs 38 (Dylan Fowler 16, Wass 5).
Havre – Kills 26 (Lexi Olson 6, Sarah Armstrong 5); Assists 13 (Payton Filius 13); Aces 6 (Davee McLeod 2, Armstrong 2); Blocks 8 (Sarah Armstrong 4, Martha Stocker 3); Digs 74 (Brandy Lambourne 28, Sadie Seidel 18).
Livingston def. Havre
25-17, 25-15, 25-19
Livingston – Kills 28 (Courtney Njardvick 7, Callie Ellingston 6); Assists 16 (Shayla Pryor 13); Aces 7 (Callie Ellingston 2, Pryor 2); Blocks 4 (Njardvick 3); Digs 53 (Ellingston 12, Megan Hawkins 12).
Havre – Kills 17 (Sarah Armstrong 7, Sadie Seidel 5); Assists 14 (Peyton Filius 14); Aces 4 (Sadie Seidel 2); Blocks 2 (Martha Stocker 1, Lexi Olson 1); Digs 53 (Brandy Lambourne 21, Lexi Olson 9).
Saturday
Windy City Classic
Pool Play
Havre def. Manhattan 25-15
Havre def. Bridger 25-14
Havre def. Browning 25-19
Lewistown def. Havre 25-20
Gardner def. Havre 25-22
Tournament Play
Havre def. Butte Central 25-19
Belgrade def. Havre 25-22
Reader Comments(0)