REMARKABLE RUN

On Saturday afternoon at Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, the Havre High volleyball team only needed to win two more sets against Billings Central to win the Class A state volleyball championship. Instead, the Rams won three straight sets to win the match, 3-1, by scores of 19-25, 25-21, 25-17 and 25-21.

The Blue Ponies and Rams then had to play another championship match in a winner-take-all scenario. The Rams were able to hold onto their momentum as they won the match, 3-0, by scores of 28-26, 25-22 and 25-13 to repeat as state champions. While the Ponies' season came to a heartbreaking end, Havre still brought home their first trophy from state since 2005.

And HHS head coach Stephanie Huse believed they had a great season and a great run at state.

"As much as we would have liked to come out on top of that match, just to be in that experience and be there in that final match for the season is quite an accomplishment," Huse said. "I don't know if anybody would have thought that we were going to be there at the end when we were talking about top teams in the (Class) A throughout the state."

Heading into the first championship match Saturday afternoon, the Ponies were undefeated in the tournament and just needed to win one more match for a state title. In the first set against the Rams, the Ponies came out hot with a 9-1 lead. During that stretch, Avery Carlson recorded a pair of kills to lead the Havre attack. The Rams were able to stay in the set as they cut their deficit to 18-17. However, the Ponies ended the set on a 7-2 run to win the set, 25-19, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

"When we have good ball control, we're able to run our offense and be aggressive," Huse said about the first set. "The girls were focused and really just dialed in and we were able to execute things offensively and defensively in that first set."

The Ponies were not able to carry that momentum into the rest of the match. After an early 6-6 tie to start the second set, the Rams scored four straight points to take the lead. The Ponies came back to tie it, 13-13, but the Rams retook the lead and never looked back en route to a 25-21 win to tie the set, 1-1.

The third set followed a similar pattern with an early 8-8 tie. The Rams then scored nine straight points to take a 17-8 lead. The Ponies tried to get back into the set but the Rams held on to win the set, 25-17, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

With a chance to win the match, the Rams took an early 7-2 lead to start the fourth set. While the Ponies did not let the set get away from them, they could not cut into the deficit as the Rams won, 25-21, to win the match, 3-1, to force another championship match.

Carlson led the Ponies with 10 kills and also recorded 12 digs. Yelena Miller led the team with five blocks while also recording nine kills. Alyssa Oliver finished the match with 24 digs and two service aces. Molly Huse had a strong performance with 27 assists, 17 digs and four blocks.

The Ponies have had their troubles against the Rams this season but they defeated them Thursday night to remain undefeated in the state tournament. However, Huse believes the Ponies were not able to keep them off balance Saturday like they did Thursday.

"As the match went on, I felt like Central was able to run a lot more of their stuff," Huse said. "When we beat them on Thursday, we kept them on their heels all the time. They couldn't run their offense. They struggled with their attack, they struggled with their serving and I think we just had them on the defense all the time. When we faced them on Saturday, I felt like it reversed and they all of a sudden became more of the aggressor."

After losing three straight sets to end the first title match, the Ponies were unable to regain momentum in the second championship match. The Rams jumped out to a 7-1 lead to start the first set. The Ponies were able to come back to take a 12-11 lead but they could not hold onto momentum as the Rams came right back to retake the lead.

The Ponies and Rams continued to go back and forth through the rest of the first set. The Rams had several chances for set point but the Ponies would score to tie the set. It was not until the set was tied, 26-26, were the Rams able to score two straight points to win the set, 28-26, and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

Looking to tie the match, the Ponies took a 3-0 lead to start the second set. However, the Rams came back to take a 6-5 lead. The Rams were able to keep the Ponies at bay through the rest of the set on their way to a 25-22 win to take a 2-0 lead in the match. With five straight sets won, it would have been hard to slow down the Rams' momentum.

"When you have (momentum) and when you have that energy, it's going to be a good thing," Huse said. "We didn't have that heading into that second match. We were a little bit frustrated and trying to figure out what we needed to do to execute and do better."

With a chance to win a state title, the Rams wasted little time as they jumped out to a 14-0 lead to start the third set. The Rams eventually built themselves a 22-8 lead later in the set. Miller helped get the Ponies back into the set with three straight service aces but it was not enough to overcome the slow start as the Rams won the set, 25-13, to win the state title.

"Sometimes when things aren't going great, they're not going great," Huse said about the start of the third set. "One of their servers got on a roll and we were just having a really hard time coming up with a good enough attack to answer."

Miller finished the match with a team-high four service aces. Carlson again led the Ponies with six kills while also recording 11 digs and a block. In her final match as a Pony, Oliver recorded 18 digs and an assist. Molly Huse led the team with 22 assists and three blocks.

While the Ponies' season came to a disappointing end, they made a great run to reach the championship match. After winning their first two matches of the tournament Thursday, Havre defeated Western A champion Polson, 3-1, by scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-19 and 25-21 to earn their spot in Saturday's championship matches. In that match, Miller led the team with eight kills and four blocks. Senior Maddie Columbus recorded six kills and three blocks in the match. In the loser's bracket, the Rams had to defeat Polson Saturday morning to stay alive and advance to the championship match.

With the season now over, Huse can now just look ahead to the offseason and next season. She believes that their strong run in the postseason can show that the HHS volleyball program is a strong one that will hopefully attract new players. Along with the commitment from the players already within the program, Huse expects good things going forward.

"To go to divisionals and then make a really good run at state, it sparked some interest in volleyball and some looks at volleyball as being something that can be competitive and strong," Huse said. "You have to commit for a long period of time in order to get into a position where you can be competitive and so that's going to be the big thing is the commitment. If we continue to have the commitment that we've had from the girls that are in the program right now, then we're just going to keep going."

Havre def. Polson

25-16, 22-25, 25-19, 25-21

HAV - Aces 7 (Jade Wendland 4, Alyssa Oliver 1, Molly Huse 1); Kills 32 (Yelena Miller 8, Avery Carlson 7, Maddie Columbus 6); Assists 27 (Huse 27); Blocks 12 (Miller 4, Huse 3, Columbus 3); Digs 72 (Oliver 23, Kyanna Jarvis 17, Carlson 12).

POL - Aces (Camilla Foresti 3); Kills (McKenna Hanson 14, Liz Tolley 9); Assists (Avery Starr 29, Gracie Simonich 8); Blocks (Tolley 3); Digs (Foresti 19, Hanson 12, Starr 11).

Billings Central def. Havre

19-25, 25-21, 25-17, 25-21

HAV - Aces (Lizzi Haney 2, Alyssa Oliver 2); Kills (Avery Carlson 10, Yelena Miller 9); Assists (Molly Huse 27, Emilee Chambliss 1); Blocks (Miller 5, Huse 4, Maddie Columbus 2); Digs (Oliver 24, Huse 17, Carlson 12).

BC - Aces (Maddie Yochum 4); Kills (Mya Hansen 14, Alexa Williams 12, Zi'Onna Leikam-Morton 9); Assists (Maria Stewart 38, Ally Foster 5); Blocks (Alaina Woods 7, Hansen 2, Williams 2); Digs (Foster 25, Williams 15, Tayler Moore 12).

Billings Central def. Havre

28-26, 25-22, 25-13

HAV - Aces (Yelena Miller 4); Kills (Avery Carlson 6, Maddie Columbus 5, Jade Wendland 5); Assists (Molly Huse 22, Alyssa Oliver 1); Blocks (Huse 3, Carlson 1); Digs (Oliver 18, Carlson 11, Huse 10).

BC - Aces (Ally Foster 4, Maddie Yochum 2, Maria Stewart 2); Kills (Zi'Onna Leikam-Morton 15, Mya Hansen 6, Yochum 5); Assists (Stewart 29, Foster 5); Blocks (Alaina Woods 2, Leikam-Morton 1); Digs (Foster 24, Tayler Moore 10, Stewart 3).