Ponies come up short against Miles City

Through their first three matches of the season, the Havre High volleyball team was never pushed to the brink as they swept all three of their opponents. On Saturday night at Blue Pony Stadium, Miles City gave the Blue Ponies a fight that lasted five sets. Despite their best effort, Havre lost to the Cowgirls, 3-2, by scores of 24-26, 25-17, 25-21, 20-25 and 15-17.

"It was a battle. Miles City just came and was pretty relentless all the way around," HHS head coach Stephanie Huse said. "They served extremely tough and they play defense extremely well. We had very little answers to how well they dug the ball and kept the pressure on us so we struggled with that."

It was the first loss of the Ponies' season as they fell to 3-1 on the young season. Havre should have known it was going to be a battle after a back-and-forth first set. Throughout the opening set, the Ponies and Cowgirls exchanged leads with neither one holding onto momentum. The teams kept throwing haymakers at each other until they were tied 24-24. The Cowgirls then grabbed momentum for two straight points to win the set, 26-24, for the 1-0 lead in the match.

"They were just tenacious. They just kept being aggressive towards us," Huse said about the Cowgirls in the first set. "When someone's being that aggressive with you, you have to match that aggressiveness and that determination."

However, the Ponies bounced back in the second set. Havre came out as they raced out to a 6-1 lead. Miles City tried to stay in it but the Ponies kept the Cowgirls at the bay. Havre tied the match, 1-1, with a Molly Huse kill to win the set, 25-17.

The Ponies maintained their momentum heading into the third set. After an early 4-4 tie, havre took a lead that they never relinquished. Havre went on to win the set, 25-21, thanks to a Miles City serving error to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

"The girls battled. They never gave up," Huse said about her team in the second and third sets. "They kept working, they kept trying to break it down. I think it was just sheer will at that time."

Despite grabbing the 2-1 lead in the match, Havre could not close it out in either of the final two sets. After Miles City built themselves a 10-8 lead, the Cowgirls went on a 10-5 run for a 20-13 lead. Despite a late rally from the Ponies, Miles City held on to win the set, 25-20, to tie the match.

In the decisive set, both teams battled all the way to the end. Havre took an early 4-1 lead but Miles City came back for the lead. Through most of the set, the teams exchanged runs until they were tied 15-15. But Miles City pulled it out with two straight points for a 17-15 win in the set and 3-2 win in the match.

"It was just the energy. It's that momentum that happens in volleyball and when you have it things are great and when you don't have it, it's really hard to get it back," Huse said about the fourth and fifth sets.

While it was the first regular-season meeting between the two teams this season, the Ponies and Cowgirls did compete against one another at the tip-off tournament in Sidney last month. In their two-set match, Havre defeated Miles City by scores of 20-8 and 20-5. Huse believes the main difference on Saturday for the Cowgirls was the return of several players who missed the tip-off tournament.

"It shows in their teamwork and how they work together and work together the whole time," Huse said. "When you miss those key pieces, it affects your team."

Maddie Columbus finished the night leading the Ponies with 15 kills. Jade Wendland also had a solid day for Havre with 10 service aces and five blocks. Yelena Miller finished the match with 13 kills, two service aces and one block.

"It's great we had a match like that. We need to have a match like that. To battle, go all the way to the end," Huse said. "When your whole team is struggling, it's hard to win matches that way, so we'll learn a lot from it."

HHS volleyball will next play on the road at Sidney Friday at 7 p.m.

Miles City def. Havre

24-16, 25-17, 25-21, 20-25, 15-17

HAV - Aces 10 (Jade Wendland 10, Yelena Miller 2); Kills 58 (Maddie Columbus 15, Miller 13); Assists 50 (Molly Huse 47); Blocks 10 (Wendland 5, Miller 1, Columbus 1); Digs 117 (Alyssa Oliver 25, Avery Carlson 20, Lizzi Haney 19).