Tough weekend for Pony spikers

It was another tough weekend for the Havre High volleyball team as the Blue Ponies dropped a pair of matches against two of the top volleyball programs the state of Montana has to offer.

First, the Ponies hosted Central A rival Lewistown at the HHS gymnasium and despite losing in three consecutive games by the scores of 25-14, 25-23 and 25-17, the match was closer than it appeared.

"We had times where we played as well as we have all season," HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "It's just a consistency thing. We still make too many little mistakes. We have improved a lot on defense but still have way too many hitting errors."

For Havre to pull the upset over Class A power Lewistown, a good start was imperative and unfortunately, it was the Eagles, not the Ponies that got out of the gates quickly. Lewistown scored four of the game's first points and rode that momentum to an easy 11-point win in game one.

In the second game the Ponies showed some life. After falling behind 5-1, Havre was able to battle back, and following an ace by Dani Wagner and a kill by Megan Erickson, the score was tied at 6-6.

The Eagles built a 15-12 lead and later a 20-17 lead but the Ponies again answered with an ace by Madison Huebsch and another kill by Wagner to trim the Lewistown lead to 21-20. Reggie Bernard also had a clutch kill that made it 24-23, but just when it seemed like the Ponies might steal a game, Michelle Monger had a vicious kill which allowed the Eagles to hang on for the 25-23 win.

"I think that our inexperience hurts when it comes to finishing," Skoyen said. "We can play with any of the teams that we play and we are capable (of beating)any of them. But, winning is an attitude and they don't think of themselves as winners, but I know that they have gotten so much better and they are capable of playing with anyone on our schedule."

Down 2-0, the Ponies fought valiantly and even built a 14-12 lead midway through the game after back-to-back kills by Bernard and Wagner. But, after a time out by the Eagles and a powerful kill by Jaree Mane, as well as a pair of aces, Lewistown reclaimed a 15-14 advantage and would go on the close out the game and the match, 25-17.

Wagner had a very good outing for the Ponies despite the loss. She finished with seven kills, eight digs and three blocks, all team highs. Naomi Terry led Havre with 11 assists and two aces. Jordyn Warren pitched in with a pair of aces.

Monger was the dominant force for the Eagles in the win, registering 13 kills and one block. Mikayla Comes also had a stellar night with 30 assists, while Mane had 14 digs and three aces.

After hosting the Eagles Friday night, the Ponies returned to the HHS gymnasium Saturday to meet Choteau, a traditional volleyball power in the ranks of Class B.

Unlike their match against Lewistown, the Ponies never really had a chance to beat Choteau, which started fast and never relented in the three-game sweep of Havre. The Bulldogs easily won the first two games by identical scores of 25-12. Then, dispatched the Pones 25-21 in the clinching third game.

Wagner and Bernard combined for 10 of Havre's 14 kills and each had five in the loss. Warren had 11 digs and two aces, while Carlene Rennick had 4.5 blocks. Terry also added eight assists.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs was Celie Salmond, who had 13 kills and six digs. Hannah Bowers also impressed with seven aces and four blocks while Sarah Hodgskiss had 14 assists.

The loss drops the Ponies' overall record to 1-10 and their record in Central A conference play to 1-3. HHS will be back in action Thursday when it plays host to Great Falls High. The Ponies will follow that up with a trip to Browning for another Central A conference matchup.

"Obviously we want to win but right now our main focus is peaking for divisionals," Skoyen said. "We have to keep getting better and being more consistent, but I still think we can get to where we need to be by divisionals."

Lewistown def. Havre

25-14, 25-23, 25-17

Lewistown – Kills 35 (Michelle Monger 13); assists 30 (Mikayla Comes 30); aces 6 (Jaree mane 3); digs 44 (Jaree mane 14); blocks 2 (Michelle Monger 1, Jaree Mane 1).

Havre – Kills 24 (Dani Wagner 7); assists 22 (Naomi Terry 11); aces 6 (Jordyn Warren 2, Naomi Terry 2); digs 25 (Dani Wagner 8); blocks 10 (Dani Wagner 3).

Choteau def. Havre

25-12, 25-12, 25-21

Choteau - Kills 34 (Celie Salmond 13), Blocks 9 (Hannah Bowers 4), Aces 13 (Bowers 7), Digs 41 (Molly Salmond, Tristun Achenbach 6), Assists 32 (Sarah Hodgskiss 14)

Havre - Kills 18 (Reggie Bernard, Dani Wagner 5), Blocks 9 (Carlene Rennick 4.5), Aces 2 (Jordyn Warren, Naomi Terry 1), Digs 30 (Warren 11), Assists 16 (Terry 8).