HHS spikers sweep in Browning

After suffering a disappointment on homecoming night last Thursday, the Havre High volleyball team was looking to take out its frustrations on Browning over the weekend.

And that is exactly what happened in a three game sweep of the Indians.

The Blue Ponies, who came into the match with a 1-11 record, earned their second win of the season in convincing fashion on Saturday in Browning, by the scores of 25-12, 25-15 and 25-16. The win was the second overall for Havre and improved the Ponies record to 2-11 overall and 2-3 in the Central A conference.

“I thought that we played as well this past weekend as we have all season,” HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. “Even though we beat Browning earlier in the season, I wasn’t that happy with how we played. But (on Saturday), I thought all the girls stepped up and played really well.”

One area where the Ponies have struggled so far this season was with hitting errors and that was a metric that was much improved on Saturday, with Havre committing just 10 hitting errors in the win.

HHS also put together a stout effort on defense as the Ponies only allowed nine kills in three sets against Browning, thanks in large part to a team-high 15 digs from Havre senior Jordyn Warren.

“Things seemed to finally click,” Skoyen said. “We have done a really good job of cutting back our hitting errors and we did a good job of that against Browning. I think that and our defense have been the two biggest improvements for us so far.”

The Ponies proved to be a much better offensive team than the Indians and finished the match with 29 kills compared to just the nine for Browning. Leading the way for the Ponies in kills was Dani Wagner, who had eight to go along with a team-high 16 assists, seven digs and three aces.

Other key contributors for the Ponies at Browning included Megan Erickson, who had one of her best outings of the season with five kills, five digs and two blocks. Reggie Bernard was also solid for HHS with five kills, a team-high four blocks and three aces. Carlene Rennick pitched in with four kills, Jaycee McDonald had three kills and two blocks, while Naomi Terry added seven assists and four digs.

Skoyen is hoping that taking Great Falls High to four games last Thursday at the HHS gymnasium and the three-game sweep of Browning are a sign of things to come as the Central A Divisional tournament is right around the corner.

“I think we are showing signs that we are headed in the right direction,” Skoyen said. “It’s a still a process and we are still taking baby steps towards our goals, but we are getting better every weekend.”

The Ponies will be back in action this Friday when they will travel to Conrad for a non-conference match. HHS will try to avenge a home loss to Conrad earlier in the season when they lost to the Cowgirls in five games. The action will get underway at 7 p.m. on Friday.

The Blue Ponies have just two home matches remaining this season as well. On Oct. 25,the Ponies will host a Central A doubleheader against Belgrade and Livingston.

Havre def. Browning

25-12, 25-15, 25-16.

Havre – Kills 29 (Dani Wagner 8. Reggie Bernard 5, Megan Erickson 5, Carlene Rennick 4, Sami Huston 3, Jaycee McDonald 3, Jordyn Warren 1); Digs 41 (Jordyn Warren 15, Dani Wagner 7, Megan Erickson 5, Madison Huebsch 4, Reggie Bernard 4, Sami Huston 2); Assists 27 (Dani Wagner 16, Naomi Terry 7, Jacey McDonald 3, Megan Erickson 1); Aces 13 (Madison Huebsch 3, Reggie Bernard 3, Dani Wagner 3, Naomi Terry 3, Jordyn Warren 1).