Blue Ponies spike the Devils

The Northeastern A has been grueling at times for the Havre High volleyball team, with every twist and turn with a strong opponent waiting for them. After some tough conference losses throughout the season, the Blue Ponies were looking for some magic against the top-seed of the Northeastern A.

And against the Glendive Lady Devils in the Havre High Gymnasium Saturday evening, the Blue Ponies came away with a strong 3-1 conference win over the Lady Devils putting them in great position as the postseason approaches.

Havre head coach Steph Huse was happy to see the team come away with an important victory.

"It was a really exciting win for us," Huse said. "Glendive is at the top of our conference undefeated, so to get that win on them on our home floor meant a lot to us and our team."

The first two sets of the game would see the battle between the Northeastern A rivals flourish, with both sides of the net keeping a strong pace to start. The battle was back-and-forth and the energy was relentless. The home crowd kept fueling Havre on the court and the Blue Pony spikers kept pushing to win. But, after set two, the game was still up in the air, as Glendive and Havre were tied 1-1 going into the third set of the bout.

Huse still saw some challenges from Glendive, though.

"Glendive is really solid overall," Huse said. "They're also a very tough serving team, so we knew we needed to be strong in our service and getting into it early on was going to be big against them. Our defensive specialists did a good job of having ball control for us to do a good job and to do well on offense."

The Blue Pony spikers kept up a strong energy in the third set, pushing forward while the Lady Devils battled right back. The intensity of the game continued as both teams put up points on the board, but a combined block by Yelena Miller and Ellie Collins gave Havre set three.

The fourth set was just as heated as the last. The defensive specialists for the Ponies kept the ball going throughout the set, while Glendive worked to try and tie up the game, but with the Ponies up 24-20 and at match point, the ball got away from the Lady Devils and gave HHS the conference victory at home.

At the end of the day, Huse saw the Ponies rally together to get the win over their Northeastern A rival.

"I would say, as far as the win goes, that it was a complete team effort," Huse said. "It was from every girl that touched the floor. They contributed to that win. It wasn't necessarily a couple people's game, it was everybody's. Yelena Miller probably had the best match of her season against Glendive, though. She had 14 kills, four blocks and was just really good in the middle for us, so that was good."

Havre was supposed to play Shelby last Thursday, as well, but that match was canceled by the Coyotes.

Next up, the Blue Pony spikers (5-3) are preparing for another Northeastern A showdown against the Lewistown Golden Eagles Saturday at 4 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium.

Havre def. Glendive

22-25; 25-20; 25-15; 25-20

Aces- Team (9)

Alyssa Oliver-4; Kaylee Torgerson-1; Ellie Collins-3; Sydney Wilting-1

Kills- Team (28)

Maddie Columbus- 4; Yelena Miller- 14; Avery Carlson-2; Talia Ralph-5; Kennedy Hampton-1; Ellie Collins-2

Digs- Team (68)

Kaylee Torgerson- 10; Sydney Wilting- 10; Kennedy Hampton- 5; Ellie Collins-12; Yelena Miller-2; Alyssa Oliver-16; Maddie Columbus-1; Avery Carlson-5; Talia Ralph-7

Assists: Team (23)

Ellie Collins- 18

Blocks: Team(12)

Yelena Miller-4; Maddie Columbus-2; Talia Ralph-4; Molly Huse-2