Blue Ponies fall to the Cowgirls in Eastern A volleyball opener

The Havre High volleyball team was hoping to take a step toward the Class A state tournament with a win Thursday at the Eastern A Divisional Tournament. Unfortunately, Miles City was standing in the way.

The Blue Ponies, who came into the tournament needing two wins to advance to state, failed to get the first one Thursday as Miles City knocked off Havre in four sets by the scores of 14-25, 25-17, 25-12 and 25-23. The loss will put Havre into loser-out action this morning against Livingston or Sidney.

Havre, which came in as the second seed from the Central A, started with its hair on fire against third-seeded Miles City of the Eastern A, jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the match after a 25-14 win in the opening set. Yet, the Ponies advantage would soon go by the wayside as the Cowgirls responded with a 25-17 victory in the second set to even things up at 1-1.

In the pivotal third set, Miles City again dominated, scoring 25 of the 37 points to win easily 25-12. Closing the door on the Ponies didn’t prove to be easy, but in the end, Miles City was able to close out the Ponies by the score of 25-23.

While the Ponies hit the ball well, recording 36 kills and six aces, it wasn’t enough to overcome the Cowgirls. Senior Kadyn Acor had a strong outing in the loss, notching 12 kills and a block. Jessa Chvilicek was also solid with nine kills and three blocks; Cassidy Acor contributed with nine kills of her own and a block. Sam Oliver pitched in with 26 assists; Peyton Brown led the way with three aces and Sydney Wilting posted a team-high 12 digs.

Havre still has a chance to bounce back and make it to the state tournament and to do so, the Ponies just need to make it to Saturday at the Eastern A. In order to achieve that, Havre will need to win its match this morning and then defeat Belgrade, Lewistown or Glendive in loser-out action. If HHS wins two consecutive matches today, it will be heading back to state for the first time since 2015.

Miles City def. Havre

14-25, 25-17, 25-12, 25-23

Havre - Aces 6 (Peyton Brown 3); Kills 36 (Kadyn Acor 12, Jessa Chvilicek 9, Cassidy Acor 9); Assists: 29 (Sam Oliver 26); Blocks 5 (Chvilicek 3, Kadyn Acor 1, Cassidy Acor 1); Digs 46 (Sydney Wilting 12, Katelyn Maloughney 7, Peyton Brown 7).