Ponies corral the Cowgirls on homecoming

It has been a season of repetition for the Havre High volleyball team in 2020. Since the beginning of the fall the Blue Ponies have been met with split weekends, where one team will fall to their might and the other will return the favor. Thursday and Saturday, that consistency came about once again.

Thursday saw Havre take on the Lewistown Golden Eagles on the road, where the Eagles got the win 3-1, with the set scores being 25-15, 19-25, 15-25, 21-25, followed by a home-game against the Miles City Cowgirls, where the Blue Pony spikers got a revenge win 3-1, with the set scores being 25-22, 13-25, 25-16, 25-18, giving the squad an overall record of 4-3.

Havre head coach Steph Huse recalled the tough start to the weekend against Lewistown.

"Against Lewistown, we started off pretty strong," Huse said. "Then, we became our own worst enemy and fell behind in our energy and execution of our serving and defense. That was difficult for us in that match."

The Ponies did start off the game on a good note, putting themselves in a great spot to take an early lead in the first set, while continuing to push the Eagles back. Lewistown kept fighting, but the offensive attack by Havre gave them the lead of the match 1-0.

But the Eagles would reverse the play and use it against the Ponies, taking advantage of the second, third and fourth sets to throw off Havre's game. Despite the efforts of the Blue Pony spikers, Lewistown would overpower the defense to take major leads throughout the sets, ultimately handing Havre the loss.

Then, the Ponies would find a home-game fall in their favor against Miles City, which was something Huse was glad to see.

"Against Miles City, we really felt like we wanted to make a turn heading into the second-half of our conference season," Huse said. "The first half was all on the road and now we're finally home for all our conference matches. We want to make that turn and do better than we've been showing. We just wanted to be really clean with everything and improve on communication and teamwork."

The Ponies started off strong once again, battling with the Cowgirls in the first set, with volleys going back-and-forth, filling the Havre High Gymnasium with quite the intense atmosphere. Still, HHS pulled away with the first set to lead early, but Miles City would take the second set in a tough bout to tie the match 1-1.

That was when the Blue Pony spikers ignited. There would still be a tough climb to get through the third and fourth sets, but Havre took control throughout the volleys to grab a win in the third set after the ball was double-hit on Miles City's side of the court. The fourth set was full of energy from the Ponies, who kept on trucking to pick up the Northeastern A conference win at home.

And at the end of the day, Huse was glad to see the home-game bring about some great energy from the team.

"I think anytime a team gets to play on their home-floor in front of their fans and sleep in their own beds, it's definitely more of a benefit for that team," Huse said. "With the situation we're in with COVID-19, we're just happy we're able to play on our home court. We just want to keep that opportunity to continue playing."

Against Lewistown, Yelena Miller led the team with 14 kills and versus Miles City, Maddie Columbus led the Ponies with nine kills.

Next up, the Blue Ponies (4-3) will play the Shelby Coyotes in Shelby at 5 p.m. Friday and the Glendive Lady Red Devils at 2:30 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium Saturday.

Lewistown def. Havre

25-15, 19-25, 15-25, 21-25

HAV – Aces- Team (1) Alyssa Oliver-1; Kills- Team (36) Maddie Columbus- 5; Yelena Miller- 14; Avery Carlson-4; Talia Ralph-11; Kennedy Hampton-1; Samantha Lovenguth-1; Digs- Team (67) Kaylee Torgerson- 8; Sydney Wilting- 14; Kennedy Hampton- 8; Ellie Collins-6; Yelena Miller-2; Alyssa Oliver-18; Maddie Columbus-2; Avery Carlson-3; Talia Ralph-1; Samantha Lovenguth-5; Assists: Team (32) Ellie Collins- 29; Blocks: Team(6) Yelena Miller-3; Maddie Columbus-2; Talia Ralph-1.

LEW – not reported.

Havre def. Miles City

25-22, 13-25, 25-16, 25-18

HAV – Aces- Team (10) Alyssa Oliver-1; Yelena Miller-1; Samantha Lovenguth-1; Sydney Wilting-2; Kennedy Hampton-2; Ellie Collins-3; Kills- Team (30) Maddie Columbus- 9; Yelena Miller- 7; Avery Carlson-3; Talia Ralph- 7; Alyssa Oliver-1; Sydney Wilting-2; Ellie Collins-1; Digs- Team (48) Kaylee Torgerson- 4; Ellie Collins 6; Yelena Miller-3; Alyssa Oliver-11; Sydney Wilting- 15; Kennedy Hampton- 6; Talia Ralph-2;  Maddie Columbus-1; Assists: Team (28) Ellie Collins- 24; Blocks: Team (9) Maddie Columbus-2; Yelena Miller-2; Talia Ralph-3; Ellie Collins-2

MCC – not reported.