Blue Ponies split in important Central A matches

Lost in the shuffle of a busy sports weekend, was the fact the Havre High volleyball team also made its debut this past weekend and did so in impressive fashion.

The Blue Ponies, who have struggled in Class A the last few seasons, showed that they have taken a big step forward from last season by first, earning a split against Central A conference rivals Livingston and Belgrade on Friday, before posting a solid 2-2 record in the Windy City Classic in Belgrade on Saturday.

The Ponies won just two conference matches a season ago, with both wins coming against Browning. But this season, HHS did not wait long to get on the board as they took their opening match of the season against Livingston, before falling to Belgrade in the night cap of the season-opening doubleheader.

The debut was an impressive one for the Ponies and their new head coach Tamecia Jarvis, who managed to get a victory in her very first match on the sidelines for HHS. And after notching a win Friday, the Ponies were hungry to get back in the win column Saturday at the Windy City Classic.

Havre, which was placed in Pool B to begin the tournament, opened up against Manhattan and wound up falling in the one-game match by the score of 25-16. But, the Ponies still had two matches to play Saturday morning and against the stern competition of Butte Central and Lewistown, and they rebounded in a big way.

First, against the Maroons, who ended up winning the tournament, the Ponies fought their way to a 25-22 victory, then in the final match of group play, Havre knocked off Lewistown, another Central A rival 25-11 in a non-conference battle. And even though it was just one victory, it should serve as a big boost for Havre to post a positive result against an Eagles team that easily swept the Ponies in two matches a season ago.

Thanks to their 2-1 showing in group play, Havre advanced to the single-elimination tournament that took place later Saturday. And unfortunately, for the Ponies that is where their weekend would end, as they fell to Jefferson by the score of 25-20 in the opening round of the tournament.

Butte Central advanced in the best-of-three semi-final round by sweeping Livingston, while Belgrade moved on with a two-game win over Gardiner. In the championship match, it was the Maroons, who came away victorious after taking two of three games from the Panthers.

All in all, Jarvis and the Ponies have to be pleased with the way their season started and will look to continue their strong start to 2015 this week, when they will take part in the prestigious Electric City Classic, which will take place in Great Falls Friday and Saturday.

Note: No stats from this weekend's matches were made available to the Havre Daily News by press time.