News you can use

Pony spikers get a rematch with Choteau

In any sport, the idea is to be playing your best at the end of the season. And with the Havre High volleyball team in the stretch run of its regular season, the Blue Ponies are looking to do just that during a brutal four-match stretch to close out the season.

That stretch starts tonight, when the Ponies travel to Choteau to take on the Class B volleyball powerhouse that defeated Havre in three games at the HHS Gymnasium back on Sept. 27. The action tonight will get underway at 7.

The Ponies, who come into the match with a 3-11 overall record and 2-3 record in conference play, will be looking to hand the Bulldogs, who come into tonight 11-0, their first loss of the season. Yet, if HHS is going to pull the upset they will need to play much better than in the first meet when the Bulldogs defeated them 25-12, 25-12 and 25-21.

“Our goal is to go down there and be competitive,” HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. “We have improved a lot as a team since we first played Choteau. They are a very good team, but if we can go down and compete with them and win a game or two and get into the fifth game, then anything can happen.”

The Ponies will be led in the match by Dani Wager, who is the main setter for the Ponies, but has turned into a jack of all trades kind of player. She currently ranks fourth in the Central A conference with 136 total kills and is sixth in kills per set with 2.06.

In addition to being among the leaders in kills, Wagner is fourth in the conference in total assists with 198 to go along with three assists per set, which also ranks fourth in the Central A. She also leads the league in total aces with 41.

Another key cog for the Ponies will be Reggie Bernard, who leads the Central A with 37 blocks, while also ranking sixth in the conference in kills with 111. Other contributors for HHS include Carlene Rennick who has also come on strong recently for the Ponies and is currently second in the conference behind Bernard in blocks with 32.5. Naomi Terry will also play a key role and ranks sixth in the league in assists with 113, while Jordyn Warren, the team’s defensive specialist is sixth in total kills with 169.

If Havre is going to be successful against the Bulldogs, it will need to make sure it contains Celie Salmond, who burned HHS in the first matchup to the tune of 13 kills and six digs, as well as Hannah Bowers and Sarah Hodgskiss. All three players are seniors and will be playing the final home match of their careers against HHS.

“We have to get them out of their comfort zone and make them do things they don’t want to do,” Skoyen said. “Our ball control is much better and we have really decreased our hitting errors. So if we can just keep playing that way and not making errors we have a chance.”

The Bulldogs are just the first opponent in a difficult four-match stretch to finish the season for Havre and after the match against Choteau, the Ponies will take on Belgrade, Livingston and Lewistown.

A win tonight, which would be the third straight for HHS, would get that string of matches off on the right foot. It would also give the Ponies the confidence they need to close the season strong and make a run in the postseason.

“Our last four matches are going to be really tough for us,” Skoyen said. “Each one of those matches will be make us better. We just need to stick to our fundamentals and do the right things. We have moments where we play really well, it’s just not consistent. And now that we are near the end of the year, that consistency really needs to come through.”

The Ponies and Bulldogs will get their nonconference tilt underway tonight in Choteau at 7.

 

Reader Comments(0)

 
 
Rendered 03/11/2024 18:01