Home Sweep Home

The Havre High volleyball team came into senior weekend looking for something to prove. And after sweeping Livingston and defending state champion Belgrade, the Blue Ponies proved plenty.

On Friday night in the HHS gymnasium, the Ponies went toe-to-toe with the Livingston Rangers and after a hard-fought battle, the Ponies prevailed with a five-set win by the scores of 24-26, 25-18, 25-16, 18-25 and 15-9. Then, on Saturday, in the senior's final game in the Blue Pony Corral, Havre notched its best win of the season as they defeated Class A volleyball power Belgrade in four sets by the scores of 19-25, 25-19, 26-24 and 25-16.

"I am very proud of my team," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "They all did a great job. They worked hard and they kept their heads up the whole time, even if they made mistakes. It's an awesome feeling; I don't have words for it."

In the first match of the back-to-back against Central A opponents, the Ponies started out a little slowly and despite holding a 17-13 edge, Livingston rallied to take the first set in the match 26-24. In the second set, Havre also failed to establish control early and midway through the set the score was tied at 14-14. Yet, the Ponies responded with an 8-0 run that made the score 22-14 and Havre eventually held on the take the second game 25-18 and even the match at one set apiece.

In the third set, the Ponies cruised to what looked like an easy 25-16 victory, and it looked like the end was near for the Rangers. But, in game four, nothing went right for Havre. Livingston jumped out to a 12-3 lead and never looked back on its way to a 25-16 win of its own to force the match into a fifth and final set to decide the winner.

The fifth set was close to start with as Havre built an early 6-5 lead. But from there, Havre dominated. The Ponies would score nine of the set's last 13 points and when Dani Wagner nailed home a kill to seal the 15-9 win, the match went to HHS.

Reggie Bernard had an outstanding performance for the Ponies as she finished the match with 10 kills and 3.5 blocks. Wagner finished the match with an impressive six aces, while Naomi Terry had 14 assists and Madison Huebsch had 33 digs. Sierra Higgs led the way for the Rangers with a match-high 17 kills.

After knocking off Livingston Friday, the Ponies turned their attention to Belgrade, the only team in the Central A to defeat Havre all season.

But, just like on Friday night, Havre started out a bit sluggish and allowed the Panthers to come in on senior night and take the opening game of the match by the score of 25-19.

Yet, in the second set, Havre started to turn things around, especially with their hitters. The Ponies notched 11 kills in the set, headlined by Wagner, who had three. Megan Erickson, Sammy Huston and Terry all added two and the Ponies won the set 25-19.

The third set was really the first in the match where the two teams went back and forth in terms of scoring. Belgrade jumped out to a 14-8 lead at one point, but the Ponies responded with a 6-0 run to tie things up at 14-14. Belgrade again built a slight lead at 20-16 and at one point even led 24-22. But, HHS scored the final four points in the set, including a huge kill from Jacey McDonald to put Havre ahead 25-24 before Belgrade lost the final point on a hitting error.

"We weren't not going to get swept and let that happen again," Wagner said after dropping the first game. "We knew the first set happened cause of our mistakes and we weren't going to continue to let that happen."

In the fourth set, Havre controlled things from start to finish. Thanks to a number of spectacular kills from Wagner and Bernard, the Ponies built an early 11-6 lead and didn't look back. And when Bernard's final kill hit the floor, the Ponies had won the game 25-16 and the match 3-1.

"It felt amazing," Bernard said about when her final kill hit the ground. "We just had to get it done. We wanted to be tied with them for the conference and we got it done. It's incredible."

"It's a great feeling," Wagner said. "We really wanted to win with this being the last time we step out on this floor and we were ready to go. We have definitely become much closer as a team this year. We are like best friends and get along great out on the court and that's something that we needed."

Wagner had an incredible performance in the win for the Ponies with a match-high 13 kills to go along with 15 assists and one ace. Bernard, a fellow senior, also saved some of her best volleyball for her last home match as she noticed 10 kills and six blocks. Erickson led the defensive charge for Havre with 24 digs, while Huebsch had 22. Terry also had a solid outing with nine assists.

"Reggie and Dani really stepped up," Jarvis said. "Reggie really had a good day hitting the ball, so that was fun to see. And both of them were just smart with where they hit the ball."

Havre will close out the season Saturday in Lewistown, where the Ponies will put their 11-6 record overall and 6-1 mark in conference play on the line. With the win, Havre will wrap up the second spot in the final Central A standings.

Havre def. Livingston

24-26, 25-18, 25-16, 18-25, 15-9

Havre: Kills 36 (Reggie Bernard 10), Aces 14 (Dani Wagner 6), Assists 29 ( Naomi Terry 14), Blocks 6 (Reggie Bernard 3.5), Digs 119 (Madison Huescuh 33).

Livingston: Kills 38 (Sierra Higgs 17), Aces 7 (Lindsay Lane 2), Assists 34 (Kinsey Whiting 34), Blocks 13 (Holly Davis 9), Digs 121 (Aleah Peterson 31).

Havre def. Belgrade

19-25, 25-19, 26-24, 25-16.

Havre - Kills 41 (Dani Wagner 13, Reggie Bernard 10); Assists (Wagner 15, Naomi Terry 9); Blocks 3 (Reggie Bernard 2); Digs 119 (Megan Erickson 24, Madison Huebsch 22).

Belgrade – N/A.