Blue Pony spikers ready for some homecoming fun on the court

It's been almost a month since the Havre High volleyball team has played a match on its home court. However, with the next five contests set for the HHS gymnasium, the Blue Ponies better get used to their friendly confines.

The five-match homestand for the Ponies will begin tonight, as Havre will host old Central A rival Browning. The two teams will get things underway at 7 p.m. Then Saturday, Havre will host Cut Bank as part of homecoming festivities this weekend. That match will begin at approximately 5 p.m.

"We really like playing at home," HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis said, "so that will be exciting, and it will be nice to play in our own gym and not have to travel and all that. Also, it's going to be homecoming and that always add to the excitement, too."

While the Ponies come into the Browning match with a 4-5 record overall, HHS is just 1-1 in the Central A conference and up to this point has played only two regulation matches against Class A teams, with one win coming over Livingston and a loss coming to Belgrade.

Browning, under the direction of former Havre High head coach Bill Huebsch has struggled to find the win column, at least against Class A teams as the Indians are 0-3 in the Northwest A, losing to Libby, Polson and Columbia Falls. Havre, on the other hand, which swept the Indians a season ago, will look to keep up their winning ways against their former conference rival.

"We just want to be able to keep getting better," Jarvis said. "That's our focus. Just keep improving on things like our serve-receive and our hitting. We don't really focus as much on what other teams are doing, we are just focused more on ourselves and what we are doing."

One thing Havre has done this season, regardless of the opponent, is hit the ball much better. HHS has the second best hitting percentage in the Central A at (.140) and a big part of that are two effective hitters in Cassidy Acor and Jessa Chvilicek. Acor, a junior, has one of the top hitting percentages in the Central A at .300, followed closely by her sister Kadyn Acor, who is hitting .240 and Chvilicek, who ranks 10th in the conference at .162. Cassidy Acor is also second in the conference in total kills with 135, while Chvilicek is fourth with 85. Cassidy Acor, Kadyn Acor and Chvilicek are all among the Central A leaders in blocks, too.

"Our middles have done a really nice job for us this year," Jarvis said. "They always seem to bring it and that's really helped our hitting improve overall."

While the hitters have been a big part of the Ponies offensive attack, Sam Oliver has also played a vital role setting up the offense and as the primary setter, she is second in the Central A in assists with 234 or 5.44 per set. Oliver is also among the conference leaders in digs with 2.26 per set. Peyton Brown and Sydney Wilting also ranked sixth and seventh in the league in digs with 1.93 and 1.80 per set respectively.

Oliver has been used as an outside hitter more by Jarvis recently and she also has been the team's most effective server, notching 30 aces which is second in the Central A.

"Sam has been really great for us," Jarvis said. "She has been really consistent, and she really contributes in a lot of different ways."

After taking on Browning tonight, the Ponies will return home to take on Cut Bank, another team HHS has dominated in recent years. The Wolves, who reside in the Northern B, will pay a visit to Havre Saturday night at 5.