Blue Ponies set for home opener against Browning

The Havre High volleyball team got off to a solid start this season after taking third place at the tip-off tournament in Lewistown this past weekend. Now the Blue Ponies will play in their first full matches of the year as they will play Browning at home and then East Helena on the road this weekend.

As the Ponies head further in their first year under head coach Cassie Krueger, the new coach hopes to use these matches to further establish the identity of this team this fall.

"My expectations for the matches this weekend are going to be to solidify my starting lineups," Krueger said. "And for them to go out and have better serving percentages and attacking percentages."

The Ponies open the weekend at Havre High Gymnasium on Friday night with their match against Browning. In their first match this season that will go more than two sets, Krueger knows Browning will provide a challenge.

"They have a couple of stud hitters and they're a very scrappy team," Krueger said. "So we're going to go out and start out in a basic formation and adapt to them like we've been practicing this week already."

While Browning will provide a test to start the weekend, the Ponies will at least get that test at home. As the Ponies compete in their home opener, Krueger is excited to see how her team builds off the energy of the crowd.

"I'm looking forward to the girls getting into a home atmosphere with the crowd and having fans on their side," Krueger said. "This past weekend was a lot of fun but it'll be a lot of fun to have our fans there with the Blue Pony nation."

The Ponies will continue the weekend on Saturday night with a road match against East Helena. Havre and East Helena have already faced each other this season in last weekend's tipoff tournament. The Ponies won that match in two sets (20-15, 20-19), so Krueger has an idea on what to expect on the road this weekend.

"We're very excited about that match," Krueger said. "We saw East Helena this past weekend and we are going in with a different mindset since we've already played them once."

Last weekend, the Ponies played well in their first action of the season as they placed third in the tournament. As they head into full matches this weekend, Krueger hopes that the Ponies will continue to grow together as a team.

"I hope to carry over their mentality (from the tournament)," Krueger said. "They started gelling pretty well together and finishing strong and I hope to carry that over into this season."

But the Ponies are still fresh this season as they try to find their identity. As they prepare for this weekend's matches, Krueger knows there is still pretty room for improvement.

"We'll work on our offense a bit and make sure our serve receive is very stable," Krueger said.

The HHS volleyball team will play Browning at 5 p.m. this Friday at HHS Gymnasium. The Ponies will then head on the road to play East Helena on Saturday at 3 p.m.