Havre High volleyball hosts rival Lewistown in home opener

The time has finally come for the Havre High volleyball team to begin its season this Friday. And what better way to start it off than with a home game at Blue Pony Gymnasium against their rival Lewistown.

“There’s going to be excitement. The rivalry between Havre High and Lewistown goes deep so it’ll have a lot of energy,” HHS head coach Stephanie Huse said. “With that comes a lot of adrenaline so trying to control the adrenaline and stay focused on the game plan are kind of the focus for this Friday.”

Lewistown lost several of their best players from last fall. Their most notable player returning will be junior Brooke Weinheimer who was all-conference second team last fall. While they lost some key players, Huse still expects the Eagles to be a tough outing.

“They’re a good serving team, they can keep you out of your system if they get on a roll,” Huse said. “So really controlling them on the serve receive so that we can stay in system and be able to put the ball away. I think that’s the main thing that they’ll bring to us.”

It has not been long since the last time these teams faced off. At the tip-off tournament in Sidney last weekend, the Ponies defeated the Eagles 2-0. Havre won the first set, 20-14, and the second set, 20-12. However, that match was only two sets that were played to 20 points so Huse expects the Eagles to play differently and better this Friday night.

“Everybody is going to improve and make changes and adjustments to what they saw over the weekend,” Huse said. “I think the main thing for us is just to focus on the things we need to improve on and if we can do those things, we’ll be fine.”

If the Ponies are going to open conference play with a win, they will need their best players to step up. Junior Yelena Miller returns after being an all-state player last year. Alyssa Oliver and Maddie Columbus look to start their senior years with a win after being named all-conference honorable mentions last fall. At the tip-off tournament last weekend, Oliver led the team with 95 digs and Columbus led the Ponies with 35 kills. However, Huse is still looking to clean up their game in several areas before they hit the court this Friday.

“We’re looking to continue our good ball control, decrease our serving errors and just be really aggressive on our attack,” Huse said.

Along with this Friday’s game being the team’s home opener, it is also special because they can have matches at home with no fan restrictions. Last fall, Blue Pony Gymnasium could not be filled because of COVID-19. With hopefully a more normal season this fall, Huse looks forward to the support this weekend.

“It’s going to be nice that we’re home with no fan restrictions,” Huse said. “Anytime you’re at home, it’s special. I know these guys are taking every match and knowing that it’s special to them and how valuable it is because we just came off of a challenging year with COVID.”

HHS volleyball will play against Lewistown at Blue Pony Gymnasium this Friday night at 7 p.m.