Homecoming is always a special time for the Havre High volleyball team. But the Choteau Bulldogs decided to make it a rough time on Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs spoiled Havre High’s homecoming match and its home debut Saturday afternoon with a four-set win at the HHS gymnasium. Choteau defeated Havre by scores of 25-22, 25-19, 22-25 and 25-18.
“Again, we’re pretty much dealing with the same thing we have been all season,” Havre head coach Melanie Skoyen said. “We are just too inconsistent right now. We hesitate too much, when we need to be playing to win and being aggressive and we didn’t do that against Choteau.
“And Choteau is a very good team with 10 seniors,” she added. “They are well-coached and they know how to win, and that’s something we’re still learning to do.”
After dropping the first two sets to the Class B powerhouse, the Ponies looked to get things rolling. Kills by Sarah Armstrong and Sadie Seidel, as well as a couple of strong serves gave the Ponies some momentum and a third-set victory.
However, Choteau took the momentum right back and really dominated much of the fourth set, putting Havre away from a 3-1 win. It was also HHS’s second loss of the week as the Ponies also fell to Lewistown on Thursday night.
“There were some positives,” Skoyen said. “We finished that third set really strong, and I thought we did some good things even though we’re dealing with an injury and a couple of kids having to play out of position. But again, we were just too inconsistent and that’s something we’ll just have to keep working on in practice. This team is very talented, and it’s still the beginning of the season for us, so we have time to keep improving.”
In the loss to the Bulldogs, the Ponies totaled 33 kills. Armstrong led the way with a match-high 14, while Lacey Waid had eight and Seidel finished with seven. Armstrong also had both of Havre’s blocks. Blocking was an area Choteau really controlled the match as the Bulldogs out-blocked the Ponies 6-2.
Peyton Filius was solid passing the ball with 29 assists, while Brandy Lambourne had 24 digs, Waid had 13 and Seidel added 11. Lambourne, Aubrea Worm and Davee McLeod each had two aces for the Ponies, who dropped to 3-5 overall.
The Blue Ponies will be back at home to host the Class AA CMR Rustlers on Thursday night, then they will travel to Conrad on Saturday.
Choteau def. Havre
25-22, 25-19, 22-25, 25-18
CHO – Kills 39 (Alisha Breen 10), Assists 33 (Mikayla Renteria 16), Aces 3 (Sarah Stringfellow 2), Digs 42 (Stringfellow 16), Blocks 6 (Breen 5).
HHS – Kills 33 (Sarah Armstrong 14), Assists 30 (Peyton Filius 29), Aces 7 (Aubrea Worm 2, Brandy Lambourne 2, Davee McLeod 2), Digs 61 (Lambourne 24), Blocks 2 (Armstrong 2).
