Pony spikers look for more home court success

The Havre High volleyball team has taken advantage of playing at home in recent weeks, winning three straight matches. This week the Blue Ponies will look to build on that success against a pair of old rivals, starting tonight with Great Falls High.

The Ponies will have two matches at home inside the HHS gymnasium this week, as they will host the Bison tonight at 5:30. Havre will then take on Central A conference rival Lewiston Saturday at approximately 5 p.m.

“It’s fun to play at home,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “We have been playing well (at home) and we have had a really good atmosphere, so that makes it easy to get excited to play.”

While both matches will provide challenges, the task faced by the Ponies tonight will be taking on a Class AA opponent, Great Falls High, that is fresh off a tough loss to CMR. The Bison will come to Havre with a 5-13 record and a 1-5 mark in their conference.

One thing the Ponies will need to do is contend with Bison hitters such as Kaitlyn Gilbert, who had nine kills in the loss to the Rutlers. Maggie Lewis, Abbie Groskreutz and Celia Keil are others to watch for the Bison.

As far as Havre is concerned, the Ponies are hoping to win their fourth consecutive match after defeating Browning, Cut Bank and Conrad in straight sets at home over the last two weeks. One thing that has spurned the winning streak for HHS (6-5, 1-1) has been better hitting, which has steadily improved from a season ago and ranks second in the Central A with a hitting percentage of .149. Havre also averages 8.3 kills per set behind the stellar play around the net of Cassidy Acor, Jessa Chvilicek and Kadyn Acor.

Cassidy Acor is currently third in the Central A when it comes to hitting percentage with a mark of .298, but Kadyn Acor and Chvilicek also ranked sixth and ninth respectively in the same category. Cassidy Acor is second in the Central A in kills with 137, while Chvilicek is fourth with 99.

Defensively, Cassidy Acor and Chvilicek have also been a force. Chvilicek actually leads the Central A conference with 31.5 blocks and also with .59 blocks per set. Acor is second in the conference with 27.5 blocks and third with .52 blocks per set.

Sam Oliver has also been an integral part of the recent winning ways for Havre and she comes into tonight’s match with the second-most assists in the Central A with 275. She also ranks fifth in the conference in digs and is third in aces with 32. Other key contributors are Peyton Brown, Katelyn Maloughney and Sydney Wilting.

After the Ponies take on Great Falls tonight in a non-conference match, Havre will host Lewistown Saturday in a match that could help determine the second place team in the Central A. Currently, both teams are 1-1 and will have another match later in the season.