Pony spikers get coveted win

Coming into the weekend, the Havre High volleyball team had yet to win a match, and because of that they were determined to walk away from the match against the Browning Indians as the victors, which is exactly what the Blue Ponies did.

The Ponies made quick work of beating the Indians Friday night inside the HHS gymnasium. It took only three games as HHS dispatched of Browning, easily sweeping by the scores of 25-20, 25-13 and 25-16.

"It was good to win and we were focused but we have yet to show our home crowd how good we are," HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "I watch us every day in practice and we are so competitive. Then when we get in games we don't play like that. But they were focused and didn't overlook (Browning)."

In the first game of the match, the score was tied at 20-20, but then Havre went on a 5-0 run to end the game, which was capped off with an ace by Dani Wagner to seal the first game for the Ponies.

In game two, HHS got off to a quick start, jumping ahead to an early 5-0 lead. Following an ace by Reggie Bernard, the Ponies were ahead by a score of 9-2. Havre controlled the score throughout the game as Browning was never closer than five points. A kill by Megan Erickson ended the game and put Havre one game away from winning its first match.

Much like the second game, Havre was in control throughout the third game and went on to win easily by the score of 25-16. The winning point was scored on an impressive kill by Jacey McDonald that sealed the victory for the Ponies.

"On defense I thought we did a much better job," Skoyen said. "We made a lot of adjustments, we moved Reggie (Bernard) to the back row and she did really well back there."

Junior Dani Wagner was a big reason why the Ponies won so easily against Browning. She had a team-high nine kills to go along with eight aces and 12 assists. Bernard also had a good all-around performance in the win for the Ponies with six kills, four digs and two blocks.

After defeating Browning on Friday, the Ponies traveled to Lewistown for a pair of non-conference matches against Hardin and Laurel.

In the first match against Hardin, the Ponies played tough but ultimately fell to the Bulldogs in four games, by the scores of 25-18, 25-22, 21-25 and 25-21. Wagner and Bernard each had 10 kills in the match for Havre. Wagner also had 20 assists and three aces. Madison Huebsch had 10 digs, while Carlene Rennick had 3.5 blocks.

Next up for the Ponies was Laurel and despite having a 2-1 lead at one point the match, the Ponies lost for the second time on Saturday by the scores of 25-19, 15-25, 15-25, 22-15, 15-9.

Havre def. Browning

25-20, 25-13, 25-16

Havre leaders– Kills (Dani Wagner 9, Reggie Bernard 6, Megan Erickson 6, Sami Huston 2, Jacey McDonald Carlene Rennick 1, Naomi Terry 1). Assists 24 (Dani Wagner 12, Naomi Terry 12). Aces 14 (Dani Wagner 8, Reggie Bernard 3, Madison Huebsch 1, Jordyn Warren 1, Naomi Terry 1). Digs 22 (Madison Huebsch 8, Megan Erickson 4, Reggie Bernard 4, Jordyn Warren 2, Dani Wagner 2, Naomi Terry 1, Sami Huston 1).

Hardin def. Havre

25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 25-21

Havre leaders – Kills 39 (Reggie Bernard 10, Dani Wagner 10); assists 35 (Dani Wagner 20); aces 7 (Dani Wagner 3); digs 33 (Madison Huebsch 10); blocks 9 (Carlene Rennick 3.5, Dani Wagner 3.5).

Laurel def. Havre

25-19, 15-25, 15-25, 25-15, 15-9

Havre leaders – Kills 47 (Reggie Bernard 15); assists 39 (Dani Wagner 20); aces 10 (Reggie Bernard 5); digs 30 (Dani Wagner 7); blocks 9 (Jacey McDonald 4.5).