This year was labeled a rebuilding year for the Havre High volleyball program.
    But as the Blue Ponies (3-2, 6-6) enter another weekend of conference play, they prepare to defend their No. 2 spot in the Central A.
     Saturday at the Havre High gymnasium in Havre, the No. 2 Ponies will host the No. 6 Browning Indians.
    “Browning is still winless in conference,” Havre High head coach Melanie Skoyen said. “But I know they do good things. Defensively they are a scrappy team and I can definitely see them throwing some things at as that we aren’t used to. We are preparing just like we would for any other team, and we are going in there knowing we cant get caught off guard and just worrying about what we do on our side of the court.”
    Even with a winless conference record, the Indians can’t be overlooked.
    Right now the Indians have the third best serve-receive percentage in the Central A. They don’t miss too may serves, and are stingy when it comes to giving up points.
    “Sometimes you can count on points just from missed serves,” Skoyen said. “But that’s something we won’t get from Browning. As always, we need to work on our serve receive.”
    Sarah Horn is also a player to watch out for. She leads the Indian's scrappy defense and her play will cause the Ponies to change up their offense. Horn also leads the conference in digs.
    For the Ponies to earn points, they are going to have to hit smarter and with more confidence. They also have to refrain from being too predictable. In several instances the Ponies have been one dimensional, just going up and hitting he ball as hard as they can, hoping for the kill. But Skoyen said that won’t work, and they have to mix up their hitting with tips as well.
    “We just have to make sure we are smart with our spots and make sure we are running our offense,” Skoyen said. “We will probably get a good amount of free balls, so we should be able to capitalize and run some plays.”
    Outside hitter Sammy Evans and setter Jaclyn Evans are also back in the Pony lineup after missing last weekend's game against Conrad due to a family function.
    And both girls should be key to the Ponies' success. Sammy Evans struggled in her last outing, a Pony loss to Butte Central two matches ago. She struggled with hitting errors and accuracy, but in the last week of practice she has been much improved. She has also been hitting very well off of Jaclyn Evans in practice, so look for them to connect often on Saturday.
    If overlooked, the Indians can be dangerous.
    With solid defense combined with some of the best serving accuracy in the Central A, the Indians will prove to be competitive. But if HHS can play its style of volleyball, they should come out on top this weekend.
    “I am confident we will have success this weekend,” Skoyen said. “I know we are definitely ready to go. I feel the dynamics of the team are getting stronger every day and I love how the chemistry is flowing. I think we are finally starting to gel as a team and I am happy it is starting now and hope it continues to do so.”
    Saturday, following the freshman and junior varsity, the Ponies will face the Indians at the Havre High gymnasium at 4:30 p.m.