Blue Ponies sweep Livingston to open Divisionals

The Havre High volleyball team has been on a tear over the past month to end the regular season and the Blue Ponies' start to the postseason was no different. The Ponies began the Eastern A Divisional Volleyball Tournament in Laurel on Thursday with a match against Livingston. The Ponies won the match, 3-0, by scores of 25-14, 25-15 and 25-11, so HHS head coach Stephanie Huse was happy with the performance to open the postseason.

"The girls did a good job," Huse said. "We kept our serve aggressive, stayed aggressive on our attack and our ball control was really good, so I think those were kind of the keys."

While the Ponies had a strong day, they had a slow start to the match. The Rangers had early momentum in the first set as they jumped out to an 8-4 lead over the Ponies. Huse believes the Ponies were just experiencing nerves and once they got through them, they never looked back.

The Ponies responded with a 9-1 run to take a 13-9 lead over Livingston. After giving up momentum, the Rangers were unable to recapture it as Havre went on to win the set, 25-14, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Havre carried that momentum into the second set as the Ponies built themselves an early 7-1 lead. Havre maintained momentum through the second set but the Rangers were able to cut their deficit to 21-15 at one point. But the Ponies scored three straight points to win the set, 25-15, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set started more competitively as the teams were tied, 4-4. The Ponies then went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. Havre eventually went on to win the set, 25-11, to complete the sweep. After an early deficit to start the match, Huse believes that once her team got in a rhythm, there was nothing holding them back the rest of the match.

"We just settled into our game. Sometimes when you get your heart rate up and you get your adrenaline focused in the right direction, things started to go the right way," Huse said.

The win improved Havre's record to 14-1 this season and extended the winning streak to 11 in a row. It was also the second win over Livingston in the past week as the Ponies defeated the Rangers, 3-0, last Friday in Livingston.

Molly Huse had a strong day for the Ponies as she recorded six service aces, 19 assists and eight digs. Alyssa Oliver again led the team with 16 digs while also recording three service aces in the match.

With the win, the Ponies advance in the tournament and will next play Hardin this afternoon. Hardin is the Southeast No. 2 seed and defeated Miles City, 3-1, on Wednesday to open tournament play. Last weekend, Havre defeated Hardin, 3-0, by scores of 25-12, 25-12 and 25-13. While Hardin is a familiar opponent, Stephanie Huse believes the Ponies should not take them lightly.

"We just faced them in our last regular season match at home so we learned a little bit about them," Huse said. "A tournament changes the energy sometimes so they're definitely going to bring a really good matchup for us."

The Ponies play Hardin in the Eastern A Divisional Volleyball Tournament in Laurel today at 2:30 p.m.

Havre def. Livingston

25-14, 25-15, 25-11

HAV - Aces 10 (Molly Huse 6, Alyssa Oliver 3, Jade Wendland 1); Kills 32 (Yelena Miller 9, Kyanna Jarvis 6, Avery Calson 5); Assists 26 (Huse 19); Blocks 3 (Wendland 1, Maddie Columbus 1, Emilee Chambliss 1); Digs 51 (Oliver 16, Carlson 10, Huse 8).