Blue Ponies stomp Browning at home

It wasn't pretty at times, but the Havre High volleyball team will take it, the first conference win of the season.

Hosting the Browning Indians at the Havre High gymnasium in Havre, the Central A Blue Ponies earned a win in three sets. HHS cruised through the first set, winning 25-12, as well as the second set, also winning 25-12, but had to fight tooth and nail in the third set, finally defeating the Indians 25-23. The Ponies improved to 6-7 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

"I am glad that we play Browning back to back, it will be good for us," Havre High head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "But at the same time, we have to realize that they can get fired up and we can't let them score runs. I know I always sound like a broken record, but it is really so basic. We still have moments where we can't put it together and we cant play as a team.

"It is good that we still have three weeks before divisionals," Skoyen added. "I know that we are not there yet. We are getting better every time out, but we still have so much we need to work on."

But the Ponies still managed to come away with the win in three sets, and for the two of those sets, the Ponies played very well.

Getting two consecutive wins of 25-12, in sets one and two, the Ponies made few mistakes and executed very well in all aspects of the game. Sadie Seidel, Lacey Waid, Martha Stocker and Sarah Armstrong earned thunderous kills, while Peyton Filius distributed the ball very well. In game one the Ponies jumped out to a 12-5 lead before earning the win on back-to-back kills by Waid and Olson. And in game two, HHS jumped out to a 12-8 lead before the Ponies combined for eight kills in a final 13-4 run.

"We just practice playing all of the different moves and plays we have," Armstrong said. "And switching out different players. We really try to mix it up so that we don't have the same shots going over and over again. We put a lot of work into switching up our hitters and the areas we hit.

"And Browning has good passers, and can definitely dig the ball," Armstrong added. "It is just about placement, so I just try to do my best and hit the ball."

The third set wasn't as well rounded for the Ponies. Instead, they went back and forth with the Indians, trading off runs of points off of errors and missed opportunities. The Ponies were lucky to escape with a win in three straight sets, as they trailed 8-5 early.

Havre High racked up 37 kills, with Armstrong leading all players with 18. Seidel, Waid and Stocker had five kills each. Peyton Filius had two blocks for the Ponies, while also totaling 36 assists. Brandy Lambourne had 13 digs, and Seidel had four of the 12 aces.

The Ponies are back in action on Saturday, when they travel to Choteau.

Havre def. Browning

25-12, 25-12, 25-23

Browning – Kills 17 (Brooke Carlson 5, Lindsey Wagner 4, Brittney Wolftail 4); Stuff Blocks 2 (Kaylea Skunkap 1, Rachel Hepner 1); Assists 15 (Shelsey St. Goddard 8, Brittney Wolf Tail 4); Digs 27 (Whitney Brendler 13, Brittney Racine 4, Brittney Wolftail 4); Aces 4 (Brooke Carlson 3, Shelsey St. Goddard 1)

Havre High's Sarah Armstrong (right) goes up for a kill during Thursday night's Central A volleyball match between the Blue Ponies and Browning at the HHS gymnasium. The Ponies swept the Indians in three games.

– Kills 37 (Sarah Armstrong 18, Sadie Seidel 5, Lacey Waid 5, Martha Stocker 5); Blocks 2 (Peyton Filius 2), Assists 37 (Peyton Filius 36); Digs 27 (Brandy Lambourne 13, Sadie Seidel 6); Aces 12 (Sadie Seidel 4, Breck Don 2, Davee McLeod 2, Peyton Filius 2).