Pony spikers split on the road

The Havre High volleyball team started off the 2020 season with a win on the road, but the gauntlet of road-games has yet to be over, as Northeastern A conference rival the Sidney Eagles and the Glendive Lady Devils were on the slate last week.

The weekend was a split for Havre, as the Ponies swept the Eagles Friday 3-0, with the set scores 25-16, 25-14 and 25-22, followed by a rough road loss to Glendive 3-1, with the set scores 21-25, 25-23, 20-25 and 12-25. This past weekend was a big eye-opener for how Northeastern A battles can come down to the wire every set.

Havre head coach Steph Huse saw a lot of effort from the Blue Pony spikers Friday and Saturday against their Northeastern A rivals.

“Against Sidney, the girls played really well overall,” Huse said. “Defensively and offensively, they worked well as a team. They just played very well together. Against Dawson County, it was a highly competitive game. They are a very seasoned team and well-disciplined. I thought we battled them pretty well. There are definitely areas we need to work on when playing a team like that, but I feel like the girls were all-in and worked well together.”

The sweep against the Eagles was a great start to the weekend. The Ponies kicked off with a strong first set, racking up some runs and keeping a good distance to keep Sidney at bay. Havre kept that pace going to notch a victory to start off the day, leading 1-0. The second set saw that level of intensity taken further, pushing the Eagles down to only scoring 14 instead of 16 in set two, pushing the game lead to 2-0 for the Ponies.

Sidney did not go down quietly, though, as the third set was a bit too close for comfort for the Blue Pony spikers, yet Havre still prevailed.

But as the two games show, the battle against Sidney was much different compared to the showdown against the Glendive Lady Devils.

“They were two very different matches,” Huse said. “The pace of them was very different. It’s really hard to give a good standout with two very contrasting matches. The thing I like that the girls are doing is that they’re bringing energy to every match they’re about to go into. They’re definitely focused and ready to compete.”

The Lady Devils set the tone early with a close win over Havre. The Ponies would fight back-and-forth with Glendive, but the Lady Devils kept pulling away, keeping the tough pace going and holding Havre at bay, which gave Glendive a strong 1-0 lead to prove just how strong the Northeastern A rival can be given the chance. The Blue Ponies did win a close set two, continuing the strong fight against their conference adversaries to tie it up 1-1.

But then came the third and fourth sets of the game, where the Lady Devils pulled away to win the third set by five points, while the fourth set saw Glendive carry the momentum from set three over set four, where the Lady Devils thumped Havre’s progress throughout the set to ensure a 3-1 victory and send the Ponies home with their first loss of the season.

After the weekend, Talia Ralph led the team in kills against Sidney with eight, Sydney Wilting added 14 digs and Alyssa Oliver had four aces on the night. Against Glendive, Ralph led the Ponies with 11 kills, Wilting put up 10 digs and Ellie Collins had two aces to wrap up the weekend.

Next up is the Miles City Cowgirls on Friday at 7 p.m. in Miles City and the Shelby Coyotes on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium for senior night.

Havre def. Sidney

25-16, 25-14, 25-22

HAV – Kills 25 (Ellie Collins 2, Maddie Columbus 7, Yelena Miller 4, Avery Carlson 4, Talia Ralph 8); Assists 25 (Collins 25); Aces 13 (Kaylee Torgerson 3, Sydney Wilting 1, Collins 1, Miller 2, Alyssa Oliver 4, Kennedy Hampton 2); Digs 49 (Torgerson 2, Wilting 14, Samantha Lovenguth 4, Hampton 3, Collins 2, Miller 7, Oliver 13, Columbus 1, Carlson 3); Blocks 1 (Carlson 1).

SID – not reported.

Glendive def. Havre

21-25, 25-23, 20-25, 12-25

HAV – Kills 42 (Wilting 1, Lovenguth 3, Hampton 1, Collins 1, Columbus 7, Miller 10, Carlson 8, Ralph 11); Assists 38 (Collins 34, Torgerson 1, Wilting 2, Lovenguth 1); Aces 4 (Torgerson 1, Collins 2, Oliver 1); Digs 66 (Torgerson 10, Collins 11, Miller 3, Oliver 11, Wilting 10, Hampton 10, Carlson 6, Ralph 4, Columbus 1); Blocks 6 (Columbus 2, Miller 3, Ralph 1).

GLN – not reported.