Pony spikers fired up for home debut

Last week, the Havre High volleyball team took a step in the right direction, with a non-conference win over Conrad. Now, the Blue Ponies will try to stack successes with a second straight win in non-conference play.

Last Saturday, the Ponies made the trip to Conrad, but this weekend, Havre will finally get the chance to play at the Pony Corral for the first time, as the Ponies will host another Class B opponent, Choteau, Saturday afternoon. The match will begin at approximately 2 p.m., inside the HHS gymnasium.

"We are really excited to finally have a match at home," HHS head coach Tameica Jarvis said. "I know that the girls are really fired up to play at home and I think that crowd support will really help us."

Choteau, which like Conrad is part of the Northern B, should prove to be a much tougher opponent for HHS. The Bulldogs have been a traditionally strong program over the years and are the reigning divisional champion. They also played at the Class B state tournament last season, but lost out in back-to-back matches.

Yet, the Ponies, who have faced some of the top teams in Class A and Class AA so far this season, will not be intimidated. And led by Jacey McDonald, Havre has plenty of talent in its own right.

McDonald, a Second-Team All-Conference performer a season ago, is currently third in the Central A conference in hitting percentage and also ranks eighth in the league in kills with a total of 60. The senior is also second in the conference in blocks with 23 and sixth in assists with 53. Havre's Alex Barkus is fourth in assists with 86.

While McDonald has been productive all season long, the entire team did a much better job of hitting and serving down in Conrad and that's something Jarvis said she hopes continues this week.

"We did a lot better job and had almost everyone in the positive for hitting in Conrad," Jarvis said. "So we want to keep that going and we just want to keep improving and fixing all those little things."

One thing that helped the Ponies play better in Conrad was the presence of senior Naomi Terry, who was a Second-Team All-Conference honoree last season. Terry, who missed the first few weeks of the season due to injury, is healthy now and close to 100 percent.

"She makes a big difference out there," Jarvis said. "She is like having another coach on the floor and she really help us in terms of leadership and keeping everyone together."

Other key contributors for Havre include Paige Nelson, Alex Donaldson, Katie Donaldson, Claire Worm, Ceyara Plante and Logan Huebsch.

After taking on the Bulldogs Saturday, at approximately 2 p.m., HHS will host CMR next Thursday night, before playing six of their final eight matches against Central A foes.