On to state for Pony spikers

Following a win Thursday at the Eastern A Divisional, the Havre High volleyball team was just one win away from qualifying for the state tournament. And even though HHS fell short of its larger goal of winning the divisional championship, the Blue Ponies did punch their ticket to state.

After knocking off Miles City in straight sets last Thursday, Havre beat Billings Central, in an exciting five-set match by the scores of 25-21, 19-25, 12-25, 25-22 and 15-6 Friday in Livingston. The come-from-behind victory clinched a state tournament berth for Havre and moved them into the undefeated semifinals Saturday against Belgrade.

The Ponies and Panthers split during the regular season, so expectedly, their match at divisionals was a back-and-forth battle. But, in the end, the win went to Belgrade 20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 29-27 and 16-14. Despite losing to Belgrade, Havre still had a chance to get back into the championship game with a win over Billings Central. Yet, in a rematch from Friday night, the Rams swept Havre 25-14, 25-23 and 25-4.

Even with losing back-to-back matches to close out divisionals, the Ponies still finished third and will advance to the Class A state tournament, which will take place this Thursday through Saturday in Bozeman. Havre will open the tournament Thursday at noon, against Butte Central.

“We are really excited,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “The girls have worked really hard all season long and they deserve it. Obviously, we wish that we could have won divisionals, but we are happy that we made it to state and finished third.”

In their match on Friday, the Ponies jumped out to an early lead as they beat the Rams 25-21 in the opening set. Yet, in the second and third sets, Billings Central knocked off Havre 25-19 and 25-12, making the outlook bleak.

Yet, the Ponies found a way to rally in the fourth set 25-22, which forced a fifth set, one which Havre was able to capture 15-9, clinching a berth in the state tournament. Senior Dani Wagner put together a spectacular performance with 15 kills, 20 digs and 14 assists.

Madison Huebsch contributed with 25 digs, Naomi Terry had 15 assists and two aces, Reggie Bernard added two blocks and Kaitlin Nystrom pitched in with two aces.

“Friday was really exciting,” Jarvis said. “This team has worked really hard and it has been a really fun year.”

On Saturday, the Ponies were looking to continue their winning ways against Belgrade and jumped out to a 1-0 lead with a 25-20 win in the first set. The Panthers answered with a 26-24 win in set two, only to see the Ponies capture the third set 25-23.

In the fourth set, Havre was looking to put Belgrade away and built an early lead, but couldn’t finish off the Panthers, who rallied to win the set 29-27. In the fifth and deciding set, the two teams again went to extra points as Belgrade edged out Havre 16-14 to come away with the win.

Bernard led the Ponies with 17 kills and 2.5 blocks. Wagner also had another stellar outing with 15 kills, 24 digs, 17 assists and three aces. Terry added 17 assists, Huebsch and Megan Erickson each had 22 digs and Jacey McDonald finished with three blocks.

After falling to Belgrade, the Ponies had to turn around and attempt to knock off Billings Central for the second time in two days and this time they were swept. The Rams took the opening set 25-14, before beating Havre 25-23 and 25-4 to finish the match.

“It was hard to come back and play Billings Central right after we played five sets,” Jarvis said. “The girls played really hard and they never quit. We just didn’t have a lot of energy after losing to Belgrade.”

Wagner had five kills and nine digs in the loss. Bernard had five kills and Huebsch added 12 digs. The Ponies are now 14-8 on the season and will take on the second-seeded team from the Western A Divisional in Butte Central this Thursday in Bozeman at the Class A state tournament.

“We feel confident going into state,” Jarvis said. “We should have a chance to do well at state and maybe even win it. We know the four teams that are going from our side and we played well against them. We are looking forward to going down there and battling.”

Billings Central def. Havre

25-14, 25-23, 25-4 (3rd)

Billings Central: Kills 34 (Ellie Hanser 14, Alix Elliott 9), Assists 34 (Barclay Fagg 18, Morgan Lucas 14), Aces 15 (Hope Welhaven 8, Fagg 6), Digs 35 (Welhaven 9), Blocks 9 (Jade Harrison 2.5, Hanser 2, Elliott 2).

Havre: Kills 16 (Dani Wagner 5, Reggie Bernard 4), Assists 8 (Naomi Terry 3, Wagner 2), Aces 4 (NA), Digs 45 (Madison Huebsch 12, Wagner 9, Megan Erickson 8), Blocks 0.

Belgrade def. Havre

20-25, 26-24, 23-25, 29-27, 16-14 (SF)

Havre: Kills 58 (Reggie Bernard 17, Dani Wagner 15), Assists 31 (Wagner 17, Naomi Terry 13), Aces 7 (Wagner 3), Digs 122 (Wagner 24, Megan Erickson 22, Madison Huebsch 22), Blocks: 6 (Jacey McDonald 3, Bernard 2.5).

Belgrade: Kills 56 (Bailey Christensen 20), Assists 43 (Shania Neubauer 42), Aces 5 (Skyla Neubauer 3), Digs 113 (Skyla Neubauer 45, Christensen 22, Emily Schram 20), Blocks 13 (Sydney Lambeth 4, Schram 3).

Havre def. Billings Central

25-21, 19-25, 12-25, 25-22, 15-6 (QF)

Billings Central: Kills 40 (Ellie Hanser 22), Assists 38 (Barclay Fagg 24), Blocks 11 (Hanser 4), Digs 121 (Hope Welhaven 40, Bailey Kufeld 26), Aces 11 (Fagg 5).

Havre: Kills 44 (Dani Wagner 15), Assists 29 (Naomi Terry 15, Wagner 14), Blocks 2 (Reggie Bernard 2), Digs 94 (Madison Huebsch 25, Wagner 20), Aces 8 (Kaitlyn Nystrom 2, Terry 2).