HHS spikers set to gain valuable experience at Great Falls tourney

After getting a taste of Central A conference play last weekend, the Havre High volleyball team will be on the road again this weekend and the Blue Ponies will be back to playing tournament volleyball.

The Ponies (0-2), opened the season at the Eastern A Tip-Off Tournament, played conference matches against Belgrade and Livingston last Friday, before taking part in the Panther Classic last Saturday in Belgrade. HHS took third at the tournament and will look to have a repeat of that performance this weekend in Great Falls, where they will take part in the annual Electric City Classic.

The tournament will feature group play, which starts Friday at 10 a.m. Teams will then be placed in brackets for play on Saturday, based on their records within their group. Most of the teams in attendance will be from Class AA, but Lewistown will be joining Havre from the ranks of Class A to compete in the loaded field.

"I think the best part about these early tournaments is that we get to play a lot of matches," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "Sometimes, it gets a little crazy and you are playing a bunch of different teams, but it's a good chance for us to get better and play some really good competition."

While the Ponies have gotten a chance to see some really good teams so far this season with the likes of Belgrade, Hardin and Billings Central, Havre will really be challenged this week with a slew of Class AA teams waiting on Friday and Saturday in Great Falls.

"It will be a good test for us," Jarvis said. "Overall the last couple of years, our win-loss record hasn't been that great there, but we have gotten better each time just from playing such tough competition."

During the opening weekend of play, Havre didn't play any regulation matches, but earned a win and a couple of draws. Yet, last weekend, at the Panther Classic, Havre won four matches in group play and another match in the tournament before settling for third place. Some of those wins did come against Class B schools, but HHS also beat the likes of Butte Central and Livingston and behind a solid group of seniors, the Ponies will try to continue to build on that momentum.

"I think we just finally started relaxing and I think that helped a lot," Jarvis said. "But part of it is that we just need to finish better. We get really good volley's and our defense is good, we just need to do a better job of finishing and getting the point."

The Ponies may need to do a better job of killing the ball, but they still have solid players around the net. Camryn Huston enters the week ranked fifth in the Central A in kills with 57 and with others such as Paige Nelson and Cassidy Acor around the net, Havre's offense has a chance to be formidable.

One area where Havre is not struggling is serving. Havre has five players, Sam Oliver, Acor, Logan Huebsch, Alex Donaldson and Katie Donaldson that are in the top 10 in the Central A in aces, while three others, Paige Nelson, Acor and Alex Donaldson rank among the top 10 in serve percentage.

Oliver, a sophomore, is also third in the Central A in assists coming into the week with 120, while Acor, her classmate, is fourth in the league in blocks with 13. Other solid contributors on defense are Kadyn Acor, who has five blocks to rank eighth in the Central A and Katie Donaldson, who is ninth in the league in digs with 68.

Havre will open play in the Electric City Classic Friday at 10 a.m. The tournament will run through Saturday. HHS will then play a road match against Conrad Sept. 16, before playing its first home match of the season against Browning Sept. 22.