Eagles stop spirited Blue Ponies

It’s been a tough season for the Havre High volleyball team. But with Lewistown on the schedule for senior night, and a third-place in the Central A on the line, the Blue Ponies played one of their most spirited matches of the year.

Unfortunately, it still wasn’t enough to get Havre into the win column against arch-rival Lewistown Friday night at the HHS gymnasium. The Eagles, who finished 7-1 and tied for first in the Central A, defeated HHS in four games, 25-20, 25-16, 21-25 and 25-19. With the loss, Havre finished the regular season 7-12 and 3-5 in the Central A. The Ponies will now have to play Browning in a play-in match to get into the Eastern A Divisional. That match will take place Wednesday in Laurel at 6 p.m.

“I thought that we played hard and we played with some intensity,” HHS head coach Tameica Jarvis said. “We just didn’t play with any consistency and that’s been the biggest problem for us all year. We just can’t be consistent.”

The Eagles swept Havre earlier in the year, but Friday night, it was apparent early that the Ponies weren’t going away without a fight. In the first game, Lewistown edged Havre 25-20, but the game was close throughout. Havre started strong in game two and jumped out to a 6-3 lead. But a 7-2 run Lewistown allowed the Eagles to regain control.

The Ponies were still close and got within five at 20-15 after a block by Ceyara Plante. But the Eagles scored five of the last six points to win the set by nine. With its back against the wall, HHS grabbed a 9-4 lead and eventually led 18-10 after an ace by Claire Worm.

Lewistown would rally and tighten up the game, but Worm finished it off with an ace that gave the Ponies the 25-21 win, trimming the Lewistown margin in the match to 2-1. Yet, in the fourth set, the Eagles grabbed an early lead and never looked back as they took the game, and the match 25-19.

Paige Nelson put forth a strong effort in the loss for the Ponies with four kills and 11 digs. Naomi Terry had six assists and four aces, while Jacey McDonald had four kills, 1.5 blocks and 11 digs. Worm also contributed with four kills and three aces.

“I think that we played well at times,” Jarvis said. “I think it shows we can compete and play with good teams. We just need to find that consistency. Hopefully we will be able to do that this week.”

Havre will take on Browning Wednesday night in a play-in match to get into the Eastern A Divisional. The scheduled start time is 6 p.m., in Laurel. A win would advance the Ponies into the first round of the tournament, which starts Thursday morning.

Lewistown def. Havre

25-20, 25-16, 21-25, 25-19

Havre: Aces 13 (Naomi Terry 4, Claire Worm 3), Kills 15 (Paige Nelson 4, Worm 4, Jacey McDonald 4), Assists 11 (Terry 6, Sam Oliver 4), Blocks 5 (Alex Donaldson 1.5, Ceyara Plante 1.5, McDonald 1.5); Digs 66 (Nelson 11, McDonald 11)

Lewistown: Aces 14; Kills 36; Assists 36 (Mikayla Comes 33), Blocks 4 (Anna Zimmer 3), Digs 60 (Bailey Calling 15, Carley Carpenter 9).