Big home finales await Blue Pony spikers

After playing three straight matches outside of the Central A conference, the Havre High volleyball team returns to the HHS gymnasium for back-to-back conference dates with Livingston and Belgrade.

The Blue Ponies, who are 6-8 overall, but 0-3 in the Central A, will host Livingston Thursday, followed by another home match Friday against Belgrade. Both matches will start at approximately 4:30 p.m.

“Livingston is a solid team, they have some OK hitters,” HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. “But I think we will have a good match against them. Belgrade is going to be a little tougher. They are really smart with how they hit and they are really well-coached, so it always makes them tough to play against.”

Earlier in the season, the Ponies lost to both Livingston (8-6, 1-2) and Belgrade (16-2, 4-0) but those matches came very early in the season. Havre has improved since then and with a three-match win streak coming in, Havre is playing with confidence.

“It’s a lot of the same things,” Jarvis said. “We need to make sure that we get a block up and that we are running our plays. We need to make sure that we get the ball down and those we are closing down on blocks and playing tough defense.”

While knocking off the Rangers and the Panthers will be a big focus, the Ponies will also be honoring their senior class, which will play its final home match Friday night against Belgrade. Those six seniors are Camryn Huston, Paige Nelson, Alex Donaldson, Katie Donaldson, Emilee Cariveau and Logan Huebsch.

“I have been with this group the longest,” Jarvis said. “So I do have a connection with these girls, so it will be hard to see them go. They have all done a good job and they all worked really hard, and we will definitely miss them.”

A win over Belgrade would be nice for HHS, but beating Livingston will be just as important. The Rangers hold a one game lead over the Ponies in the Central A conference standings and if Havre wants to improve its position, a win over the Rangers is essential.

The two teams match up well against each other, with Livingston getting the edge in hitting with 9.3 kills per set, compared to 7.2 per set for Havre. Yet, the Ponies will have the edge in aces (3.5 per set) and a big advantage in blocks, a category where Havre ranks second only behind Belgrade (1.6 per set).

The Ponies will be paced by Huston, who leads the team in kills with 117 (10th in the Central A). She also leads the team with 22 blocks, which is good enough for sixth in the conference. Havre also boasts four of the top five performers in aces in the Central A. Sam Oliver leads the Ponies and the conference in aces with 51, followed by Katie Donaldson, who is second with 43 and Alex Donaldson, who is fourth with 41. Huebsch is fifth with 36. Jessa Chvilicek has also been a key contributor with 19 blocks, along with Cariveau, who has 17 blocks.

Livingston will counter with Aleah Peterson, who is third in the Central A with 220 kills. She will be joined by Brooklyn Fitzgerald, who has 31 blocks, as the two form a pretty solid duo up front. Belgrade will bring Bailey Christensen, who is among the top players in the league with 327 kills, tops in the Central A. Christensen is also among the conference leaders in blocks. Other key players for Belgrade are McKenna Carlson, Brooke Gilbertson and Cassidy Caltron.

After taking on Livingston and Belgrade Thursday and Friday, the Ponies will wrap up their regular season against Lewistown Oct. 27.