Blue Pony spikers look to keep on winning

It has been a long season for the Havre High volleyball team, as rivals from the Northeastern A, opponents from the Hi-Line and challengers from the Eastern A have presented a tough game every week.

But come Saturday, the Blue Pony spikers will be battling for more than just a win.

Saturday will see Havre (7-3) back in the Havre High Gymnasium once again to battle with the Sidney Eagles at 4 p.m. to either boost the Ponies’ conference standings or fall behind with the postseason coming up soon.

Havre head coach Steph Huse is looking forward to the final Northeastern A game of the regular season.

“It’s been a long time since we saw Sidney,” Huse said. “They were one of our first road matches of the season, so it’s been a while since we saw them. Every team at this point should be improving and improving till they’re at their peaks or hitting their peaks. We’ll probably see the best of Sidney when they come in on Saturday.”

The Blue Pony spikers are bringing the heat come Saturday, with players like sophomore Yelena Miller and Alyssa Oliver ready to get back on the court. Miller has been a force in both kills and blocks for Havre in 2020, while Oliver has been racking up aces left and right to elevate the Ponies’ game. Meanwhile, standouts like offensive powerhouse Talia Ralph, dig-machine Sydney Wilting and Ellie Collins, who has been the leading force of assist, will be excited to compete for another conference win.

As for Sidney, they will look to not only upset HHS at home, but tarnish the Ponies standing in the Northeastern A before the postseason approaches. With Saturday being Havre’s last conference game of the season, the Blue Pony spikers will be playing for a lot more than just a win, as it will mean a lot when it comes to the Eastern A Divisional Tournament in Laurel come November.

The game against the Eagles has a lot of impact on the Northeastern A standings, as well, which Huse knows is big at this point in the season.

“Our conference is pretty tight right now,” Huse said. “Every match is turning us to a higher seed or a lower seed. It’s going to be important for us to take care of business on Saturday, but we never make that a focal point. We always just really try to focus on what we can control within the match and not the implications of where we sit within the conference. Still, our conference is tight, so every match is important.”

Matches are important, but right now, so is momentum, and Havre is on a roll. Tuesday's win over Malta was Havre's fifth straight, and the Ponies will look to keep it going in what is their final home match of the fall.

And as the regular season is starting to come to a close, the Blue Ponies (7-3) look to get a Northeastern A victory over the Sidney Eagles Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. in the Havre High Gymnasium.