HHS falls in Lewistown; Ponies host Conrad Saturday

Another match got away from the Havre High volleyball team, but the Blue Ponies are still looking up.

Thursday night in Lewistown, the Central A Ponies took on the conference rival Lewistown Golden Eagles. But the Eagles swept the Ponies 25-12, 25-22 and 25-22.

With the conference loss the Ponies now sit at 2-1 in the Central A.

"I am not disappointed in how we played," Havre High head coach Melanie Skoyen said. "We worked hard the entire time and we never gave up, even when they were at game point, we just kept chipping away. A lot of teams won't do that."

The Eagles offense is very good and very fast. And though the Ponies competed, it took time to find a comfort zone. The Pony blockers haven't seen an offense as good as this one on a consistent enough basis to compete right out of the gate.

"That was tough, our blockers had a hard time," Skoyen said.

But as the match drew on, things improved for HHS. And by the second and third games the Ponies were holding their own on defense while the offense also stood out. The offense picked up their play and played faster as well, not giving the Eagles' blockers a chance to set up.

The Eagles are athletic, but the Ponies also hurt themselves by allowing too many major point runs.

HHS dug themselves into big holes. And when their play did improve, they were fighting just to decrease the deficit. Runs of four and five points at a time really hurt the Blue Ponies on Thursday.

"The theme for tonight (Thursday) was just too little too late," Skoyen said. "When we do that (give them runs) we're working really hard just to catch up with them."

But the Ponies aren't hanging their heads just yet. Skoyen is still confident they have what it takes to be legitimate contenders in the Central A, as well the ability to compete with Lewistown when they host the Eagles near the end of October.

"Mentally," Skoyen said. "We just think that Lewistown is invincible and they are not. Not to take anything away from them because they are a great team, but they make just as many errors as anybody else. We need to realize they are like any other team and if we are on, we can capitalize on their mistakes.

"I am still confident," Skoyen added. "We still have so much potential and we are getting better everyday."

Sammy Evans led the Ponies with eight of the team's 18 kills. Sadie Seidel, Jaclyn Evans and Lexi Olson also added three a piece. Jaclyn Evans also had 14 assists, while Seidel had nine of the team's 48 digs and two aces. Davee McLeod had eight digs and Jordan LaSalle had two aces.

On Saturday the Ponies will host the Conrad Cowgirls at the Havre High gymnasium in Havre. Play will begin at 4:30 p.m. following the freshman and junior varsity.

Lewistown def. Havre

25-12, 25-22, 25-22

Havre leaders — Kills 18 (Sammy Evans 8, Sadie Seidel 3, Lexi Olson 3, Jaclyn Evans 3); Aces 5 (Jordan LaSalle 2, Sadie Seidel 2); Blocks 0; Assists 14 (Jaclyn Evans 14); Digs 48 (Sadie Seidel 9, Davee MacLeod 8)

Lewistown leaders — Not Reported