Pony netters fall at home

The Havre High volleyball team had an opportunity to move up in the Central A standings at home, but with a pair of losses to conference opponents, the Blue Ponies weren’t able to make any headway.

HHS hosted both Livingston and Belgrade inside the HHS gymnasium Saturday. The Ponies lost a five-game heartbreaker to the Rangers by the scores of 25-19, 26-24, 12-25, 23-25 and 15-12. Then, HHS lost to Central A power Belgrade in straight games by the scores of 25-9, 25-8 and 25-18.

The Ponies still had a chance at finishing third in the Central A coming into the weekend, but after the back-to-back losses dropped them to 3-14 overall and 2-5 in conference play, they are locked into the fourth spot going into divisionals.

“We did take some steps back in some areas where we had been improving,” HHS head coach Melanie Skoyen said. “But, overall I think we made a lot of improvements again (Saturday). We played a lot more consistently against Livingston than we did against Belgrade.”

In the first of the two matches, the Ponies took on the Rangers to get senior day started. Yet, the Rangers were determined to spoil the celebration from the outset and jumped out to an 8-2 advantage.

The Rangers led 15-7 at one point but HHS rallied behind the play of Dani Wagner, who had two aces and two kills to key a 5-0 run for the Ponies, which trimmed the deficit down to 15-12. But, Livingston responded with a 7-2 run to go ahead 22-14 en route the to seven-point victory.

In game two, the Ponies jumped ahead 7-5 before the Rangers scored six of the next eight points to grab a 13-9 edge. HHS battled back and pulled even at 16-16, following an ace by Madison Huebsch.

Then, Livingston reclaimed a 21-17 lead thanks to a kill by Lindzi Printz. But, again, Havre refused to quit and a kill by Wagner tied the game up at 23-23. However, with the score tied 24-24, the Rangers got kills from Sierra Higgs and Printz to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In game three of the best-of-five, the Ponies dominated. HHS got an early lead and after Higgs got a kill to get Livingston within one at 9-8, Havre went on a 13-2 run to go up 21-10 on the way to a 25-12 victory.

In game four, the Ponies found themselves on the brink of elimination trailing 21-17 but a 6-0 run that included three kills from Wagner put Havre ahead 23-21 and HHS would win the game 25-23 to force a fifth game to decide the victor.

Sensing defeat, the Rangers put their best foot forward and scored seven of the game’s first eight points. Yet, the Ponies rallied and tied the game at 8-8 on a kill by Carlene Rennick but Livingston answered with a kill by Sarah Fairchild to go up 9-8. The Rangers then scored six of the next 10 points, including two kills by Emily Cornell to seal the match and the victory.

“I thought we did a good job of coming back against (Livingston),” Skoyen said. “They didn’t play as good of defense as they did to start the match, but I thought that third game was the best that we have played all season.”

Wagner was stellar for the Ponies leading the team in each individual category. She had 16 kills, two blocks, six aces, 19 digs and 18 assists in defeat.

Printz had 10 kills to lead the way for the Rangers. Higgs added six blocks, while Cornell pitched in with four aces and 31 assists.

Against Belgrade the Ponies were overmatched from start to finish and dropped the first two games 25-9 and 25-8, respectively.

In game three, HHS was much more competitive and despite falling behind 10-6 early, the Ponies were within two at 14-12 after a kill by Naomi Terry. Yet. Belgrade proceeded to go on a 5-0 run to push the lead back to 19-12 and the Ponies never got within striking distance again and dropped the game by seven points.

Wagner again led the Ponies with eight kills in the loss. Reggie Bernard added four blocks and an ace, while Megan Erickson had eight digs and Terry had six assists.

Kylie McCree had nine kills and Hannah Goulet had four aces to pace Belgrade in the victory.

The Ponies will finish the regular season this Saturday when they hit the road to take on Central A rival Lewistown. The match will get underway at 10 a.m. Then, HHS will compete in the Central A Divisional tournament, which begins in Browning Nov.7.

Livingston def. Havre

25-19, 26-24 12-25, 23-25, 15-12

Liv: Kills: 46 (Lindzi Printz 10). Blocks: 9 (Sierra Higgs 6). Aces: 8 (Emily Cornell 4). Digs: 100 (Hailey Peterson 24). Assists: 33 (Cornell 31).

Hav: Kills: 44 (Dani Wagner 16). Blocks: 15 (Wagner 2, Samy Huston 2). Aces: 19 (Huston 6, Wagner 6). Digs: 95 (Wagner 19). Assists: 36 (Wagner 18).

Belgrade def. Havre

25-9, 25-8, 25-18

Bel: Kills: 32 (Kylie McCree 9). Blocks: 6 (Jordan Branch 2). Aces: 11 (Hannah Goulet 4). Digs: 47 (Kyra Fisher 23). Assists: 31 (Olivia Kleinsasser 31).

Hav: Kills: 16 (Dani Wagner 8). Blocks: 7 (Reggie Bernard 4). Aces: 1 (Bernard). Digs: 32 (Megan Ericson 8). Assists: 11 (Naomi Terry 6).