Pony spikers complete big regular season in Lewistown

The Havre High volleyball team didn't have much to play for Friday night against Lewistown, at least not in the Central A conference standings, anyway.

Yet, the rivalry between Havre and Lewistown, especially on the volleyball court has always been fierce, so when the Blue Ponies got a chance to sweep their season series with Eagles in Lewistown, it was an opportunity they didn't want to let slip through their fingers. And after an exciting match, HHS got its sweep of the Eagles by the scores of 25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25 and 15-13.

"It was a little nerve-racking at the end," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "But I really wanted the girls to kind of play through and let them get through without me, and I thought they did a good job of that. It was a big win for us. It's always tough to win down there with their crowd. The girls celebrate every win like it's a championship and that makes it really fun to see them do that."

With the win, the Ponies close out the regular season with an overall record of 12-6 and a 7-1 mark in the Central A. Havre actually tied Belgrade for the best record in the league but finished second in the final standings thanks to a tiebreaker. Havre will advance to play in the Eastern A Divisional tournament, which starts Thursday in Livingston.

As far as the regular season was concerned, the Ponies were determined to take care of business against Lewistown from the outset and jumped on the Eagles early, defeating them handily in the first two sets 25-20 and 25-21.

Yet, the Eagles, who have shown improvement as the season has gone on, were not going to go down without a fight, not on their home floor and especially not on senior night. And true to form, the Eagles rallied against Havre, winning the third set 25-20 and the fourth set 25-23 to force a fifth and deciding game between the two teams.

With the match on the line, the Ponies once again found their form and ended up squeaking out a 15-13 victory in the fifth set to earn the win. Havre has now won two straight over Lewistown and six consecutive in conference play.

Both teams hit the ball well in the match as each totaled 43 kills. Dani Wagner led the way for HHS with 18 kills, while Jacey McDonald added seven. Wagner also contributed with 18 assists and 19 digs in the win. Naomi Terry also had a big night for the Ponies with 17 digs, eight assists and three aces.

"Dani played awesome," Jarvis said. "She had a triple-double. I don't even know if you can call it that but she did an outstanding job."

Hanna Hayes led the way for Lewistown in the loss with 10 kills, but Carley Carpenter was the real star for Lewistown as she finished the match with nine kills, four blocks, and three aces. Mikayla Comes also pitched in with 37 assists, while Kodi Myhre added 27 digs.

The Ponies will be looking to earn their first berth into the Class A state volleyball tournament in nearly a decade at the Eastern A Divisional tournament starting Thursday in Livingston.

"It's always good to go into a tournament with some momentum" Jarvis said. "The girls have worked hard to get to this point and that has been their goal to make it to state so it's good to go in with some confidence."

Havre def. Lewistown

25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 15-13

Havre - Kills 43 (Dani Wagner 18, Jacey McDonald 7); Blocks 4; Assists 31 (Dani Wagner 18, Naomi Terry 8); Digs 116 (Dani Wagner 19, Naomi Terry 17); Aces 8 (Naomi Terry 3).

Lewistown - Kills 43 (Hanna Hayes 10); Blocks 13 (Carley Carpenter 4); Assists 39 (Mikayla Comes 36); Digs 91 (Kody Myhre 27); Aces 12 (Carley Carpenter 3).