Havre volleyball stays undefeated in the Northeast A

This past weekend, the Havre High volleyball team got into the thick of its conference season. In a pair of Northeast A matches, the Blue Ponies played well as they defeated Lewistown in four sets (25-20, 25-21, 14-25, 25-21) on the road Thursday and then defeated Sidney in five sets (22-25, 25-7, 21-25, 25-16, 15-12) at Havre High Gymnasium on Friday night.

The Ponies opened their week on Thursday night with their road victory over Lewistown. After a 7-7 tie to start the first set, the Ponies went on a 7-2 run to take a 14-8 lead.

The Ponies continued to play well to stretch their lead to 18-12. The Golden Eagles responded to cut the deficit to 19-17. But the Ponies held steady to win, 25-20, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Ponies and Eagles battled to start the second set as they battled it out to an 11-11 stalemate. That is when the Ponies went on an 8-1 run to take a 19-12 lead. Again, the Eagles came back to make it a game. But the Ponies once again closed it out to win, 25-21.

With their backs against the wall, the Eagles came out strong in the third set. With the game tied, 11-11, the Eagles went on a 6-0 run to take the lead. The Ponies were unable to respond as the Eagles went on to win it, 25-14, to cut Havre's lead to 2-1 in the match.

In the fourth set, the Ponies and Eagles went back and forth. Even late in the fourth, it was anybody's game as it was tied, 20-20. But the Ponies went on a 5-1 run to end the set and win it, 25-21, to win the match.

The Ponies continued their weekend with their home match against Sidney on Friday. The first set of the night saw the Ponies and Eagles go back and forth until it was tied, 22-22. The Eagles then went on a 3-0 run to win it, 25-22, for a 1-0 lead over the Ponies.

In response, the Ponies dominated the second set. After taking a 16-7 lead to start the second, the Ponies ended the set on a 9-0 run to win, 25-7, to tie the match.

After a poor second set, the Eagles played better in the third. The Eagles took control as they led throughout the third. While the Ponies kept pace, Sidney eventually won, 25-21, to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

With their backs against the wall, the Ponies jumped out to a 10-3 lead to start the fourth. The Eagles were unable to respond with a run of their own as the Ponies went on to win, 25-16, to tie the match and force a fifth and decisive set.

After a 4-4 tie to start the fifth, the Ponies went on a 6-1 run to take a 10-5 lead. The Eagles tried to battle their way back, but the Ponies held on to win, 15-12, and win the match.

At the end of the weekend, the Ponies now have an overall record of 5-1 and start 3-0 in the Northeast A. The HHS volleyball team will next play Miles City at HHS Gymnasium this Friday at 7 p.m.