Pony spikers get to start all over

The Central A volleyball conference hasn't changed much over the last year, and the conference standings prove that. But as the Havre High Blue Ponies enter the postseason as the No. 4 seed for the second straight year, they will look to shake things up.

Finishing the regular season with a conference record of 2-3 and an overall record of 5-12, the Ponies are the fourth seed entering this weekend's tournament in Lewistown. The seeding is the same as last season, as Belgrade finished No. 1, Lewistown finished No. 2, Livingston finished No. 3, and Browning finished No. 5. And attempting to extend their season, the Ponies will first face the Browning Indians on Friday at 11 a.m. The winner of the Havre/Browning match will have the daunting task of taking on the Belgrade Panthers at 3 p.m. on Friday.

The Lewistown Golden Eagles will also face the Livingston Rangers on Friday at 1 p.m.

While the Ponies know their first round match with the Indians is definitely winnable, HHS knows they can't overlook the Indians either. The Ponies swept the Indians again in 2013, and cant stumble now. Playing well against the Indians is key in getting a shot at the perennial powerhouse Panthers.

"This is the same thing that happened last year," Havre High head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "And we know we have to focus on Browning first. And if we get to Belgrade, we have to put a lot of pressure on them. Yes Belgrade is beatable, and we played well the last time we saw them, but we need them to have an off night, and we need to take advantage. We will have to play our best volleyball to get past Belgrade."

And Browning should be a nice stepping stone for the Ponies.

Momentum can be key in the sport of volleyball, and the Ponies know that. Unfortunately, the Ponies have had their fair share of struggles this season, and have found it difficult to keep the momentum through tough matches. If Havre can put a complete game together against the Indians, that should propel the Ponies into a competitive match against the Panthers.

A fast and easy 3-0 win over the Indians would be ideal. HHS knows how important playing as close to error free as possible is in the postseason, and that is the goal, starting with Browning. Facing the Indians will also give the Ponies a final opportunity to iron out any wrinkles.

"We are still working with a couple different rotations," Skoyen said. "And just taking advantage of playing time. But we would definitely like to play well and build some momentum against Browning for the rest of the weekend."

Serve-receive has been a concern on and off this season for the Ponies, but it has taken big strides from the beginning of the schedule. A big reason for that improvement is due to the play of Madison Huebsch down the final stretch of the season, as she earned a lot of varsity time in the back row. If the Huebsch can continue to give the serve-receive a boost, it will also boost the Ponies' chances for a couple of wins over the weekend.

A solid serve-receive will also be welcomed by a Pony team that is also still working out some hitches in the attack. Havre will look to run more plays and quicks at the divisional tournament, hopefully catching some teams off guard, while boosting their production.

"(Madison) really has a lot of confidence," Skoyen said. "And she is so calm and collected when she plays middle back. And servers tend to serve the middle of the court because it is safer than trying to serve down the line, so with her in, she is so calm and gets the job done. That is what we need because it is the mental part that takes us out of our sere receive. We need to capitalize on serve receive and get a kill right away, rather than get a bad pass and give a team a free ball that they can turn into a kill against us.

"It has improved, but it seems like it is still 50-50," Skoyen went on to say. "I never know how it is going to go, and this far in the season, it should always be good. If we can really work on serve-receive, limit our errors, and run more quicks, then that will help us get past Browning and have more confidence for Belgrade."

The hitting from Lacey Waid, Aubrea Worm, and Martha Stocker will also be key this weekend, as will the blocking by Stocker. Setters Dani Wagner and Ellery Bresler need to continue to connect with their hitters, while Breck Don needs to continue to serve tough. And if Jacinta Finneman is ready to go, after missing the final stretch of the season with an injury, she will be a factor as well with her hitting and blocking abilities.

All in all, the Ponies need to play well overall, especially if they get past Browning in the first round. And while the season has presented the Ponies with their share of ups and downs, everybody is still excited to get a shot to show what this team is capable of.

"They are pumped up," Skoyen said. "And our six seniors know this is their last divisional volleyball tournament, so they are going to give it everything they've got. That is the plan of attack for us, go out there and give it everything we've got, so we will see if we can follow through with that or not."

The Central A tournament runs Friday-Saturday in Lewistown. The top two teams move on to the Class A state tournament next week in Bozeman.