Rustlers edge Blue Ponies

Havre High's Martha Stocker (left) and Lacey Waid go up for a block during a high school volleyball match between the Blue Ponies and the CMR Rustlers Thursday night at the HHS gymnasium.

In a season that has already been plagued with ups and downs, inconsistencies, and long stretches outside of the win column, the struggles continued for the Havre High volleyball program.

This time at home against a

HHS junior Peyton Filius goes up for a block during Thursday night's match between the Blue Ponies and CMR Rustlers in Havre.

winless Class AA CMR program, the Central A Ponies still struggled to put together a consistent match. Thursday night at the Havre High gymnasium, the Rustlers defeated the Ponies in five games by scores of 25-20, 18-25, 25-13, 23-55 and 15-12.

HHS played well towards the end of the night, but struggled the rest of the time. Even with their 25-18 victory in game two, head coach Melanie Skoyen wasn't impressed with the effort, as it was more the Rustlers giving away the match with numerous errors and mistakes, rather than the Ponies stepping up and taking the win against a team they could have beaten if playing to their potential.

"I did say to the girls in the lockerroom," Skoyen said. "It was one of those games where if we have to lose, I want to lose like that. At least I know that we left it all on the court and that they gave 100 percent at the end of the match. However, coming to play and deciding they want the win at the end of game four is not ok, and that is basically what we did. When I sat back and watched us play tonight, it didn't look like we have even played together. We just need to keep working in practice, we have really gone back to the basics and we need to continue to do that."

After a win in game two, the Ponies did manage another win in game four with a better effort. HHS jumped out to an 18-11 lead, and showed what they could do when playing well. The Ponies were scrappy, they hustled, and they cheered for each other after each and every play. The Ponies were in good position, they served well, hit well, and gave more effort than fans saw all night. CMR did make things close in the end with a no quit attitude as well, but the Ponies did manage to hold onto a 24-23 lead for the win.

But unfortunately, the Rustlers gained all the momentum in game five and had too many big runs on the Ponies. HHS led 9-6, but the Rustlers took control. CMR had solid run to tie the game at 10-10, and stayed close until 12-12. From there, the Rustlers closed out with another run, winning 15-12 with two HHS hitting errors, an HHS net error, and a poorly executed serve receive.

Unfortunately it was the errors that plagued the Ponies all game long that resulted in their loss.

"(CMR) really built the momentum and came on strong at the end," Skoyen said. "But we gave up too many three-point runs in a game that only goes to 15. You can't let any teams have a run in that situation."

Sadie Seidel was a huge bright spot for the Ponies. Seidel played well all game long and hit exceptionally well. She finished with nine kills, as well as four aces. Sarah Armstrong also had 10 kills and a block, while Martha Stocker had one block, Peyton Filius had 30 assists and Brandy Lambourne had 30 digs. Lacey Waid also had 16 digs, while Aubrea Worm had three aces. CMR racked up 36 kills, seven blocks, 68 digs and 14 aces.

The Ponies will get back onto the court on Saturday when they face the Cowgirls in Conrad.

CMR def.Havre

25-20, 18-25, 25-13, 23-25, 15-12

Havre – Kills 30 (Sarah Armstrong 10, Sadie Seidel 9); Assists 31 (Peyton Filius 30, Sarah Armstrong 1); Aces 9 (Sadie Seidel 4, Aubrea Worm 3); Digs 76 (Brandy Lambourne 30, Lacey Waid 16); Blocks 2 (Martha Stocker 1, Sarah Armstrong 1).