Ponies make a final push at home

The Havre High volleyball team is coming off an important split of conference home games. Now, with two more home matches looming, two more wins are needed to ensure Havre a berth in the Eastern A Super Divisional.

In order to get that sweep, Havre will need to beat conference foes Lewistown and Browning. And to do so, will require HHS to play some of its best volleyball of the season. But considering it will be senior night Friday, when Havre takes on Lewistown, anything is possible.

Havre will take on Browning tonight at 7, and Lewistown Friday night at the same time. Both matches will be held inside the HHS gymnasium.

"Volleyball is a game of emotion," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "And I think that we will have a lot of emotion with it being senior night. That's kind of what I'm hoping. I really like what I have seen in practice, so I think we are ready."

The Ponies, who come into the week with an overall mark of 6-11 and 2-4 in the Central A, are competing with Livingston for the third spot in the final Central A standings. The Rangers, who are 3-4 right now, will likely finish the season at 3-5. Therefore, one win by Havre this weekend would likely put HHS into a tie. Two wins would likely clinch the third seed, which would mean avoiding a play-in match at divisionals.

"We definitely would like to avoid playing that first match if we can," Jarvis said. "Browning is a much better team than they have been. And volleyball is a crazy game. A lot of it depends on momentum so a lot of things can happen."

First up for the Ponies will be Browning. Havre beat the Indians in four sets in Browning earlier this season and will look to complete the season sweep. Leading the way for Havre will be its four seniors: Jacey McDonald, Naomi Terry, Ceyara Plante and Claire Worm.

"The one thing about this group is that over the last couple of years, I have gotten to know them really well," Jarvis said. "Last year, with it being my first year, we didn't really know each other. So this year, it's been fun getting to know all them more."

All four have played key roles throughout the season and will do so again in the final games of the regular season. McDonald is a key player around the net for Havre and is second in the Central A in blocks. She's also among the leaders in kills for HHS.

Like her senior teammate, Plante has also done well around the net. She is ninth in the Central A in blocks and has become a reliable hitter around the net for the Ponies. Worm is a versatile player who is seventh in the Central A in digs, while Terry, who missed a few matches early in the season, is strong defensively. She is also among Havre's top hitters and setters.

The Indians, who have yet to win in conference play (1-14, 0-6), are led by Olivia Hall, Talisia CrowSpreadHisWings and Mikalen RunningFisher.

While the Browning match is important for Havre, the showdown Friday night, is equally important for Lewistown, which is trying to tie Belgrade for the top spot in the league. The Eagles are led by a number of talented hitters including Alijah Ross, Anna Zimmer, Haydn Potter and Carley Carpenter.

Lewistown is second in the conference in kills per set, only Belgrade. The Eagles are also second in overall hitting percentage, which is why Jarvis said the key to victory will be a strong defense, one that starts with the block.

"I think the biggest thing is going to be our defense," Jarvis said. "Our block was not there against Belgrade so we have been working on that, and we will need to be much better defensively."

The Ponies will start their final two-game home stand tonight against Browning. The game will start at approximately 7. Havre will also take on Lewistown Friday, with the match also set to start at approximately 7 p.m.

"If we could win these matches that would be big," Jarvis said. "I just think it would give the girls a lot of confidence going into divisionals and would let them know what they can do and that they still have the ability to make the state tournament."