Ponies aim to finish strong in Lewistown

The regular season is coming to a close for the Havre High volleyball team, but the last match remaining before the Eastern A Divisional Tournament just happens to be against Lewistown, one of Havre's biggest rivals.

The two schools, which have a heated rivalry on the volleyball court, will renew their series tonight in Lewistown in the regular-season finale for both schools. The match between the Eagles and the Blue Ponies will get underway at 7.

"It's going to be tough against Lewistown on the road," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said. "It would be great to get a win and get a win in conference. We are capable of doing that, but we need to really step up our game if we are going to have a chance to do that."

In the first meeting between the two teams earlier in the season, Lewistown beat Havre inside the HHS gymnasium in four games. The Ponies, who have just two wins over Class A opponents (Browning), are 6-10 overall but 0-5 in the Central A. With their loss to Livingston last weekend, the Ponies are locked into fifth place in the standings.

Like Havre, Lewistown is locked into the No. 2 spot in the final Central A standings. The Eagles are 3-2 in the conference and 12-8 overall. Lewistown does have just a one game lead over Livingston for second, as the Rangers are 2-3, but the Eagles hold the tiebreaker thanks to their season sweep.

One thing that will make Lewistown difficult to handle for Havre is its ability to kill the ball. The Eagles boast four of the top-10 kill leaders in the Central A, led by Anna Zimmer, who is second in the conference with 270. Ajiah Ross is also having a strong season for Lewistown with 190, fourth in the Central A, while Haydn Potter and Andrea Russell are also in the top 10 with 161 and 151 kills respectively. In terms of kills per set, the Eagles are averaging 10.3, which is well ahead of HHS, which scores 7.1. Lewistown also has the edge in digs and assists, while Havre is strong in aces and blocks.

One reason Havre has a higher average of blocks is Camryn Huston, who is sixth in the Central A with 25.5. She is joined in the top 10 by teammates Jessa Chvilicek (23) and Emilee Cariveau (16). Huston is also tenth in the Central A with 131 kills. Havre may be last in the Central A in kills, but it leads the conference in aces, thanks in large part to Sam Oliver, Katie Donaldson, Alex Donaldson and Logan Huebsch. Oliver leads the team and the conference with 53 aces, followed by Katie Donaldson, who was 45 and Alex Donaldson, who has 43. Huebsch is also having a solid season with 37.

"I think that we have the potential," Jarvis said. "We just need to work harder. We need everyone to get on the same page and give their best effort. We just aren't getting that right now."

After taking on the Eagles tonight (7 p.m.), the Ponies will return to Lewistown next week for the Eastern A Divisional. The action will run from Nov. 1-4.