Blue Pony spikers face tough road tests this weekend

The Havre High volleyball team has been on a roll in recent weeks, winning five of their last six matches. However, the Blue Ponies won all those matches at home, and now it’s time to see if they can carry over that success to the road.

This week, Havre will get two chances to prove its prowess on the road, starting tonight in Browning, when HHS will battle its former Central A rival. The Ponies and Indians will get things started tonight approximately at 7. Havre will then have a day off Friday before paying a visit to Cut Bank Saturday, in the final non-conference match of the season. The Wolves and Ponies will meet at approximately 7 Saturday night.

“We have been really coming together as a team,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “It’s been good to see us come out and play the way we are capable of playing. We just need to keep that going and keep trying to get better.”

At this point in the season, the Ponies are 8-6 and a big part of their recent winning ways has been the stellar play of three juniors: Sam Oliver, Cassidy Acor and Jessa Chvilicek. Acor is coming off arguably the most productive match of her career, as she notched 13 kills, eight blocks and eight aces last Saturday in a sweep over Conrad. Yet, the most important part of her performance is that she had just one error. Because of that, Acor is now hitting .303 for the season, which is the second-best mark in the Central A. She’s also third in the conference in kills with 167.

Acor’s growth as a hitter has been evident for much of the season, but she isn’t the only junior that has taken a big step forward. Chvilicek has also excelled and ranks fourth in the Central A in kills with 113. While both Acor and Chvilicek have stood out offensively, they have each been productive defensively and when it comes to blocks, no one in the Central A is doing more than Chvilicek, who leads the league with 38. Acor is right behind her, sitting third in the conference with 32.5.

Acor and Chvilicek have both been vital to Havre’s success, but Oliver has been, too, and she is also contributing in a multitude of ways. For the second straight season, Oliver is one of the top servers in the Central A and in that category, she ranks fourth with 39 this season. The junior is also third in assists with 313 and seventh in digs with 139.

When it comes to their opponents this week, the Ponies should feel confident after defeating both Browning and Cut Bank at home. The Indians, who did take a game off the Ponies in their match last month, are led by former Havre head volleyball coach Bill Huebsch, as well as Dulci Skunkcap. Cut Bank, on the other hand, was knocked off in straight sets by the Ponies, who have yet to drop a set against a Class B in regular-season play.

Yet, the Wolves didn’t make things easy on the Ponies, as Cut Bank led in all three sets before dropping each one 25-20, 25-21 and 25-21, which could make notching the season sweep a challenge for HHS.

Once the Ponies wrap up their non-conference schedule this weekend, they will close out the regular season with a home match against Livingston Oct. 18, followed by a road trip to Lewistown Oct. 26 and the home finale against Belgrade Oct. 27. Havre plays Browning tonight and Cut Bank Saturday. Both matches will start at approximately 7 p.m.