HHS spikers travel to Conrad

The Havre High volleyball team has had a rough go of it in recent weeks, but Saturday, HHS will have a chance to rebound as the Blue Ponies get away from preseason tournaments and back to regulation matches.

That’s because the Ponies will pay a visit to Conrad, a Class B opponent that Havre plays on a yearly basis. The two teams will play Saturday night with the first set getting underway at approximately 7 p.m.

“I don’t know a lot about Conrad, but they were a solid team last year,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “Right now, the biggest thing we are focused on is improving and getting better ourselves. We really worked hard this week in practice to try and fix some of the mistakes we have been making. It’s been nice to have a whole week of practice to give us a chance to get back to some fundamentals.”

The Ponies, who are 2-4 overall and 0-2 in the Central A, have played at preseason tournaments in each of the last three weekends. And while tournaments allow teams to gain plenty of match experience, it can cause a bit of a hectic schedule. However, the biggest benefit was the high level of competition Havre saw, which Jarvis believes will help HHS prepare for the remainder of the season.

“We got to see a lot of great competition,” Jarvis said. “So hopefully that will pay off for us down the road. But overall, I definitely think it helped us get better because we had to raise our game up to play some of those really good teams.”

One of the biggest causes for concern thus far this season for HHS has been its inability to put the ball away. In terms of kills per set, the Ponies are averaging 5.1, which ranks third in the Central A. HHS also has a hitting percentage, which ranks fourth.

Yet, the Ponies are getting some solid play up front from Jacey McDonald, who ranks sixth in the Central A in kills, while also ranking second with 11.5 blocks. Paige Nelson, Claire Worm and Kiara Christianson have also been key contributors near the net. Also, in terms of defense, Katie Donaldson has been a standout for HHS and she is among the conference leaders in digs.

“We just have to continue to be smart and our setters need to keep getting the ball in a good position,” Jarvis said. “We just still have girls that are trying to fit in and find their role. The biggest thing is that we just need to play hard and give 110 percent because we can do that no matter what we do.”

The Ponies and Cowgirls will play at approximately 7 p.m., Saturday. Havre will then host Choteau Sept. 24 inside the HHS gymnasium.