Pony spikers host rival Browning tonight

It's been a frustrating start to the season for the Havre High volleyball team after going winless in its first six official matches. Yet, part of the reason for the struggles has been a high level competition, which will only help HHS improve as the season goes on.

After dropping a match to Conrad in Havre last Thursday and competing in the Electric City Classic, which featured a number of Class AA schools and Class A power Lewistown, the Blue Ponies are battle tested and ready to get their first win of the season tonight against Browning inside the HHS gymnasium. The Central A match is scheduled to get underway at 7.

"We have played a lot of tough competition and even though we haven't won a match yet, we have improved a lot," HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "We have had a lot of games that we have lost by just a couple of points because of errors and silly mistakes. So that is frustrating. But playing this difficult schedule has definitely made us a better team."

Havre is 0-6 overall but is also 0-2 in Central A conference play, which gives added importantance to tonight's match against Browning. The Ponies, who have finished fourth in the Central A standings two years running, want to get the best postseason seed they possibly can and a win against the Indians would be a step in the right direction.

"Conference games are always more important because it affects our seeding at divisionals," Skoyen said. "So this is an important match for us."

Despite the poor start to the season, Skoyen still believes the Ponies have the ability to do some damage this season and in order to get the most out of her players, Skoyen is going to make some adjustments.

"We are going to change a couple of things," Skoyen said. "We are going to move some people around to make sure we have our best players on the floor. The one thing we really need to improve on is our defense. I have been really frustrated with our defense because we have some very athletic girls, and we have just had too many balls hitting the ground against us."

Tonight's Central A conference showdown is just the beginning of a busy weekend for the Ponies, who are also going to take on both Laurel and Hardin Saturday in Lewistown, with the first match set for 10 a.m.

"We have been playing Laurel and Hardin for a few years now, and we have always come away with at least one win," Skoyen said. "We have always been successful in these matches and there is no way they are better than the (Class AA) teams we just went up against. So I think that we will do well this weekend and have a good chance to win at least a couple of matches."

The Ponies will be led into action by senior Jordyn Warren, who is a defensive specialist and is among the leaders in the Central A conference in digs. Junior setter Dani Wagner will also play a vital role for HHS this weekend along with fellow junior Reggie Bernard, who is going to be playing more in the middle this week instead of the outside. Despite the Ponies' slow start, Skoyen believes her team has the talent to turn things around. But to get it started, HHS needs to get in the win column against Central A rival Browning.

"I still think this team can be pretty good," Skoyen said. "We have some very good athletes and I know that we are better than we were at the start of the season. We have played some tough games and that is part of the reason why we are 0-6 but it has made us better and will pay off in the long run."

The Ponies will begin their busy weekend tonight against Browning inside the HHS gymnasium. That match is scheduled to start at 7. Saturday, they will travel to Lewistown to take on Hardin and Laurel. The action will get underway at 10 a.m.