Ponies ground Eagles on senior night

Rivalry matches are always a sight to see. Two teams with an extensive history fight tooth and nail to come out with the win.

The Havre High volleyball team met a long-time rival for the second time this season Monday night. The Lewistown Golden Eagles came to the Havre High gymnasium, looking to knock Havre off of the Northeast A pedestal.

But, after an exciting four-set match, the Ponies pulled away with the victory. Havre beat the Eagles, by scores of 27-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 25-18.

The match between the Eagles and Ponies was the epitome of a rivalry game. The two teams came onto the court and duked it out to the very end. Every set kept fans on the edge of their seats and the players constantly on their toes.

After the hard-fought victory, HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis is happy to see her team fight hard and come away with the win.

"We played great," said Jarvis. "The third set was probably not our best set, but we came back and we fought the whole time, so it was fun to watch."

The first set was the closest of them all. Senior Jessa Chvilicek opened with two kills to give Havre the lead, but Lewistown answered with a 4-0 run to take the lead away from the Ponies.

As the set progressed, Havre creeped into the lead but the Eagles kept it close. The Ponies then reclaimed the lead on a 4-0 run. Then, Lewistown snuck back into the lead on a 5-0 run. The score stayed close for some time, but Havre went on two separate 3-0 runs and a kill from junior Quinn McDonald gave HHS the win.

The second set carried the same amount of intensity as the first.

Havre started off well by going on a 4-0 run, but the Eagles responded with a 4-0 run of their own, tying up the set. A trio of 4-0 runs put the Ponies ahead once more and gave them a good lead at 16-8. But, Lewistown stormed back and eventually tied the set again at 20-20. Once again, a pair of 3-0 Havre runs kept the Eagles at bay. The first 3-0 run was compiled off a kill from junior Talia Ralph, another kill from Chvilicek and an ace from senior Sam Oliver. And with that, Havre started thinking sweep.

The Eagles had other plans. The third set was a tough one for the Ponies. With a 7-1 lead, Havre looked to continue the streak, but Lewistown went on a big, 9-0 run to rip the lead from the Ponies' grasp. Havre bounced back and later tied the match at 16-16. The Blue Ponies kept trucking and took the lead at 21-19, but the Eagles took advantage of some mistakes on Havre's end and a 6-0 run gave the Eagles the set.

"They (Lewistown) hit the crap out of the ball against us at times," Jarvis said. "They were pretty scrappy and their serves were pretty good, too. They took us out of our servicing a lot, as well."

The Ponies aimed to fix their mistakes in the fourth and accomplished their goal.

Havre did not relinquish the lead throughout the entire set. An early 7-0 run propelled the Blue Pony spikers into a nice lead. The Eagles attempted to respond and thinned Havre's lead, but ultimately fell behind again as the Ponies went on another 7-0 run. Lewistown answered with a 5-0 run soon after, but a kill from senior Cassidy Acor finished off the Eagles.

It was a big night for theBlue Ponies as they claimed the match 3-1. On top of that, HHS clinched the Northeast A, too. Havre achieved its goal of taking the Northeast and will now move forward in great spirits.

The win is especially big for the Blue Pony seniors, who put up quite the performance against the Eagles. Oliver totaled six aces and 20 digs. Chvilicek racked up 18 kills and 6.5 blocks, while Acor tallied nine kills. Peyton Brown ended the night with three aces, 33 assists and 12 digs.

But, there was a certain senior who stood out in a different way Monday night - Katelyn Maloughney.

Throughout the season, Maloughney has been the Ponies' most consistent server and Monday night against the Eagles, Maloughney nailed every serve she made. Though it may not be a stat on paper, it is certainly an accomplishment of its own and Maloughney has a simple way to explain her consistency.

"Just the fundamentals," said Maloughney. "My mom was always like; you go stick with the basics and if you watch me serve, I take it slow and just roll with the basics. Most of the time if you get those down and packed, you're going to do it right all the time."

Overall, Havre totaled eight aces, 40 kills, 35 assists, 10 blocks and 63 digs. The girls certainly came out on to the court, gave it their all and showed the Eastern A circle that they are ready to compete in the divisional tournament.

Jarvis saw a lot of key moments that helped her team claim the victory.

"Our blocking was great," said Jarvis. "It was the best blocking that we've had all season. Even though they (Lewistown) weren't terminated, we were getting touches on the ball and kind of just throwing off their game a little bit. Our serving was awesome as well."

With the win against rival Lewistown, the Blue Ponies will now get ready for the Eastern A Divisional Tournament, which will be played on their home court. Havre hosts the divisonal tourney Nov. 8-10 in the HHS gymnasium.

Havre def. Lewistown

27-25, 25-23, 21-25 and 25-18

HAV – Kills 40 (Jessa Chvilicek 18, Cassidy Acor 09, Quinn McDonald 06), Assists 35 (Peyton Brown 33), Digs 63 (Sam Oliver 20, Sydney Wilting 14, Peyton Brown 12), Blocks 10 (Jessa Chvilicek 6.5, Talia Ralph 02, Quinn McDonald 02), Aces 08 (Sam Oliver 06, Peyton Brown 03)

LEW – Kills 38 (Kylie Zimmer 11, Taylin Trafton 07), Assists 29 (Macy Mangold 24), Digs 72 (Kylie Zimmer 14, Libbey Jenness 14, Steph Olson 14, Macy Mangold 14), Blocks 10 (Taylin Trafton 03, Ambree Handran 03), Aces 09 (Libbey Jenness 05).