Pony spikers corral the Cowgirls

The Havre High volleyball team continues to keep its season rolling, and The Blue Ponies add another win to the year after the team swept the Conrad Cowgirls 3-0 Thursday inside the Havre High gymnasium.

Havre played tough for all three sets.. The first set ended with a Havre victory 25-13, the second 25-11 and the third 25-11. The Ponies were relentless and kept Conrad to a maximum score of 13. Even with the sweep, the match was still competitive and both teams showed many sparks.

Havre head coach Tamecia Jarvis was proud of her team's performance.

"I think the girls played really well," said Jarvis. "They played together as a team."

Havre proved in the match that the communication between each other is improved. A dominant showcase from the Ponies was nothing short of fantastic.

The first set of the match tipped off with some mistakes on Havre's end, but an 8-0 run by the Ponies made up for them. Conrad responded with a 3-0 run to tighten up the score 8-4 in favor of Havre. The Blue Ponies did not mess around, going on a 6-0 run. The Cowgirls started to pick up the slack and do some back-and-forth with Havre, the score moving to 19-13 with the Ponies still on top. Havre then ended the set with a 7-0 run to claim the first set.

The second set was the Blue Ponies best of the match. Not once did Havre relinquish the lead and put Conrad in a tough spot. The Ponies started the set 2-0 and the Cowgirls answered with a score. Going on runs was Havre's strength all game and the girls went on a 5-0 run to extend their lead to 6-1. Conrad scored again, but a Blue Pony 3-0 run kept them ahead. The pattern repeated throughout most of the set.

Havre and Conrad then had an intense volley in the middle of the set. The Ponies served the ball and the Cowgirls pushed to keep the ball in play, trying to end the set with a kill. Havre did not let the ball touch the court, pulling off a fast save and sent the ball back over to Conrad. The Cowgirls had a bit of a miscue and almost hit the ball out but also saved the ball and sent it flying to the Ponies. Havre then had its fair share of a miscue, but a close save from out-of-bounds got the ball back over the net. Conrad managed to get the ball over to the Ponies' side, but Cassidy Acor was ready to score. Acor was set up well by her team and she went on to slam the ball into the Cowgirls' side of the court for a kill.

Havre went on many more runs. A 5-0 run kept them up 13-4, then the Cowgirls scored. The Ponies went on another 5-0 run and the rest of the second set was variations of 3-0 runs. In the end, Havre came out on top again. The set saw incredible performances from players like senior Jessa Chvilicek and Acor which gave Havre the edge. Chvilicek opened the second set with a kill, then she helped the Ponies keep their lead with multiple blocks and more kills. Acor ended the set with a well-placed kill to put the match at 2-0 Havre.

Jarvis was impressed with the two girls' performance in the set and their future.

"I'm excited for them," Jarvis said. "They're doing a great job right now and they're only going to get better. It's fun watching them."

The third and final set was also heavily in Havre's favor. Once again, the girls opened 2-0, but found some struggles and the set scored 3-3 early on. The Ponies focused back into the game and went on a 6-0 run, then followed with another 6-0 run shortly after.

Havre just kept on running throughout the set again. A 3-0 run and a 6-0 run put the Blue Ponies far ahead, 20-7. Havre would continue the set with a bit of back-and-forth scoring, but ultimately ended the set with a 3-0 run. A 3-0 sweep for the Blue Ponies gives them a lot to look forward to in their season, but there is always things to improve.

Havre's struggles most of the match was serving and protecting against kills. The majority of the points Conrad gained were from the Ponies hitting the net on a serve or saving the kill a little too late. For Havre, the difficulties were not major enough to chance the momentum of the match but hindered them slightly and could be an issue moving forward in the season.

Even so, the Blue Ponies are looking to be a legitimate power in the Eastern A. Jarvis is glad about the effort her team put forward and will look to keep that consistent.

"They played their game," Jarvis said. "They played at their level, so that was probably the best thing."

With the Blue Ponies making strides in the Eastern A, the rest of the season is looking to be something good. But the club still has to make it through conference teams that are just as hungry for more wins.

Enter the Sidney Eagles, who will be Havre's next opponent in the year. Conference games are always a challenge and on top of that it will be an away game for the Ponies.

The Ponies will look to continue their promising season as they travel to Sidney to play the Eagles in Sidney Saturday at 1 p.m.

Havre def. Conrad

25-13, 25-11, 25-11

HAV – Kills 26 (Jessa Chvilicek 12, Cassidy Acor 08), Assists 17 (Peyton Brown 16), Digs 10 (Sydney Wilting 03, Brown 02, Sam Oliver 02), Blocks 02 (Chvilicek 1.5, Brown 0.5), Aces 08 (Wilting 03, Oliver 02)

CON – Kills 09 (Brae Eneboe 04, Hayden Dugan 02, Kate Murack 02), Assists 09 (Alyssa Bartsch 09), Digs 24 (Murack 10, Lauren Phillips 06), Blocks 01 (Elle Buhl 0.5, Dugan 0.5), Aces 01 (Natalie Broesder 01).