Pony spikers fight hard at Eastern A

For the Havre High volleyball team, the road to try and qualify for the Class A state tournament was always going to be tough. But in the end, the Blue Ponies ended up just two wins away from making it back.

Havre opened the Eastern A Divisional last Wednesday in Laurel, by taking on the hometown Locomotives in a play-in match. HHS won that match by the scores of 25-16, 22-25, 25-22 and 28-26. Once in the tournament, Havre lost two of three matches to be eliminated.

HHS fell to Glendive Thursday by the scores of 25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25 and 15-8. The Ponies rebounded Friday, staying alive with a sweep of Livingston by the scores of 25-22, 25-16 and 25-22, before losing out in a five-set thriller against Miles City, which beat Havre by the scores of 25-14, 17-25, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13. Havre finished the season with an overall record of 9-14 after going 2-2 at the Eastern A.

“I thought they played really well,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “I thought that we played hard. We really played well as a team and we had some amazing rallies. We were disappointed that we didn’t make it a little bit further, but I was really proud of how we played.”

While the Ponies eventually graduated into the double-elimination portion of the tournament, Havre started off in a do or die match against Laurel and the Ponies responded. HHS jumped out to a 1-0 lead after a nine-point win the opening set, but splitting sets two and three, Havre needed a 28-26 win to close out the match.

Paige Nelson had a big night for Havre with a match-high 11 kills. Jacey McDonald also added 10 kills, three aces and 2.5 blocks. Naomi Terry had 17 assists; Sam Oliver had 10.

After getting a win over Laurel, Havre took on another team from the Eastern Division in Glendive and lost a match that went the distance. The Ponies rallied from an 0-2 deficit after winning the third and fourth sets 25-21 and 25-19. But HHS lost the final set 15-8 to drop the match.

McDonald had another big match with 14 kills. Ceyara Plante added 13 digs and 3.5 blocks, while Oliver pitched in with 11 assists.

Facing elimination, the Ponies took on Central A rival Livingston and swept the Rangers in three games. McDonald had seven kills, along with 11 digs and one block. Claire Worm also had seven kills and Oliver had 11 assists.

After eliminating Livingston, the Ponies had just to beat Miles City to earn a match against Lewistown that would see the winner go to the state tournament. Early on, it didn’t look promising as Havre dropped the first set 25-14. But the Ponies rallied to win 25-17.

“We just kept fighting,” Jarvis said. “We had some great rallies and we just never gave in. Ultimately, we came up short, but I think they should hold their heads up high, I think it was a positive way to end the season.”

Miles City took the third set again 25-14, but Havre forced a fifth set thanks to a 25-18 victory, before falling 15-13 in the fifth, a loss which eliminated the Ponies from the tournament. McDonald had 13 kills in the win for HHS. Plante added seven, as did Nelson. Terry had 20 assists and two aces and Oliver had 13 digs.

Belgrade ended up winning the Divisional championship, with Billings Central taking second, Lewistown third and Sidney fourth.

Havre def. Laurel

25-16, 22-25, 25-22, 28-26

Havre: Kills: 43 (Paige Nelson 11, Jacey McDonald 10). Blocks: 5 (McDonald 2.5). Aces: 10 (McDonald 3). Digs: 89 (Claire Worm 21). Assists: 33 (Naomi Terry 17, Sam Oliver 16).

Laurel: Kills: 30 (Callie Allen 10). Blocks: 8 (Kylie Foos 3). Aces: 13 (Jessie LeFevre 4, Aly Gaylord 4). Digs: 105 (Gaylord 105). Assists: 29 (Gaylord 27).

Glendive def. Havre

25-18, 25-22, 21-25, 19-25, 15-8

Havre: Kills 30 (Jacey McDonald 14). Blocks 7 (Ceyara Plante 3.5). Aces 11 (Naomi Terry 7). Digs 68 (Plante 13). Assists 20 (Sam Oliver 11).

Glendive: Kills 48 (Taya Torres 20). Blocks 6 (Torres 4). Aces 8 (Addie Reinhardt 3, Abby Hill 3). Digs 100 (Thea Robinson 24). Assists 45 (Hill 24).

Havre def. Livingston

25-21, 25-16, 25-22

Havre: Kills: 25 (Jacey McDonald 7, Claire Worm 7). Assists: 20 (Sam Oliver 11, Naomi Terry 8). Aces: 7 (Terry 4, Worm 2). Digs: 52 (Ceyara Plante 12, McDonald 11). Blocks: 1 (McDonald).

Livingston: Kills: 21 (Hannah Dailey 9, Aleah Peterson 7). Assists: 19 (Skye Ingram 19). Aces: 2 (Lauren Emter, Ingram). Digs: 61 (Hope Roy 18, Peterson 14). Blocks: 5 (Daily 4, Emter 1).

Miles City def. Havre

25-14, 17-25, 25-14, 18-25, 15-13

Miles City: Kills: 38 (Jenna Swope 10, Kyra Oakland 8, Saige Diegal 6). Assists: 38 (Tori Ogolin 35). Aces: 5 (Swope 2). Digs: 107 (Swope 31, Ogolin 17). Blocks: 4 (Oakland 2).

Havre: Kills: 38 (Jacey McDonald 13, Ceyara Plante 7, Paige Nelson 7). Assists: 31 (Naomi Terry 20). Aces: 6 (Terry 2, Claire Worm 2). Digs: 61 (Sam Oliver 13, McDonald 11). Blocks: 5 (Plante 2, Emilee Cariveau 2).