Havre spikes to a fourth-place finish at Class A state tournament

Montana high school volleyball season came to an end last weekend as teams from Class AA to Class C gathered at the Brick Breeden Fieldhouse in Bozeman, and among those teams were two from the Hi-Line area.

In the Class A, the Havre Blue Ponies finished fourth in the state tournament. The Ponies beat Butte Central and Columbia Falls, but lost to Glendive on Saturday.

In the Class C circle, Fort Benton lost to Bridger and Belt.

For Havre, it was quite the ride to get to fourth place. After a loss to Corvallis Thursday, the team’s next stop was against the Butte Central Maroons. The Blue Ponies swept Butte Central by scores of 25-11, 25-17 and 25-21.

HHS head coach Tamecia Jarvis was glad to see her team compete well against the Maroons.

“That game went really well for us,” said Jarvis. “I think the girls were ready to go after getting the first day out of the way. They came ready to play.”

Havre took control of the first set against Butte Central, keeping the Maroons at bay. The Ponies stayed consistent and kept moving ahead, taking the first set and the match lead 1-0.

The second set was a little closer. This time, Butte Central managed to put up 17 points, but once again Havre had the edge to come out on top and lead 2-0.

Then, the third set proved to be even closer with the Maroons racking up 21-points. Still, the Ponies kept on trucking and found their way to a 3-0 sweep.

Havre put up 25 kills, 15 assists, three aces, 34 digs and eight blocks against Butte Central. Seniors Jessa Chvilicek and Cassidy Acor both racked up eight kills, while junior Talia Ralph made four blocks.

HHS then took the court against Columbia Falls, the West’s No. 2 seed. The Wildcats were a tough team, taking the Ponies into a five-set thriller, which ended with Havre on top 3-2, with the set scores 25-17, 21-25, 20-25, 25-20 and 15-13.

Jarvis was excited that her team fought hard throughout the match with the Wildkats.

“That was a fun game for the girls, as well,” Jarvis said. “It was fun to watch. Everybody worked together and played hard, so they naturally came together as a team and pulled it out.”

The Blue Ponies started off hot against Columbia Falls, battling back-and-forth for the victory. While the Wildcats put up 17 points, Havre kept the edge and led the match 1-0. The Ponies were off to a great start.

But Columbia Falls quickly stormed back to tie the match 1-1, then take the lead 2-0. Both sets were close and intense, with Havre only trailing by a few points. Despite their efforts, the Ponies fell in both the second and third sets, having to push a little harder to move on.

And that they did.

Havre still went toe-to-toe with the Wildcats throughout the entire fourth and fifth sets, with the Blue Pony defense making key digs to stay alive. The fourth set fell to Havre and the match tied again 2-2. From there, Columbia Falls and the Ponies fought tooth-and-nail in the fifth to try and win. In the end, Havre claimed the match victory over the No. 2 in thrilling fashion 3-2.

Havre put up 40 kills, 34 assists, two aces, 106 digs and six blocks against the Wildcats. Seniors Sam Oliver and Peyton Brown put up some nice numbers. Brown had 24 assist and Oliver racked up 32 digs.

The Blue Ponies’ final match of state was up against a familiar conference rival, the Glendive Lady Devils. The match against Glendive was a tough one, especially since it was right after the five-setter against Columbia Falls. Havre’s state run ended with the Ponies being swept by the Lady Devils by scores of 25-22, 25-9 and 25-21.

Jarvis knew why her team struggled against Glendive.

“The girls were probably tired,” said Jarvis. “They just finished a five-set match, in which they played really hard, so I think us being tired affected us a lot. We were worn out from a long day.”

The Lady Devils took the first and second sets quickly and despite Havre’s efforts in the third, the Ponies fell to Glendive and placed fourth in the state tournament.

Even with the tough loss, the Ponies still had a big year and Jarvis could not be prouder of the program’s success the year.

“I feel that we accomplished a lot as a team,” said Jarvis. “It took every single girl on that team to accomplish what we did. Every girl contributed this season, so it was a good season. I would like to thank, and I’m grateful for, all the players and the parents that supported me all season, as well as my coaching staff.”

With that, the Blue Pony spikers’ season was over and now the wait for the 2020 season has started. Chvilicek will be moving on to play for Montana State University-Northern, while all of Havre's seniors will be dearly missed.

Meanwhile, over on the Class C court, Fort Benton found some struggles in their last two matches of state. The Longhorns fell to both Bridger and Belt, an abrupt stop for the divisional powerhouse.

After beating Charlo, Fort Benton moved on to play the Bridger Scouts, where the Longhorns were swept 3-0, the set scores 25-17, 28-26 and 25-20. The loss sent Fort Benton down to the loser’s bracket and against a familiar divisional opponent, the Belt Huskies.

Last time the two teams met was in the divisional championship, where the Longhorns won in a thriller to claim the No. 1 seed at state. This time around, another thriller ensued between the two, with Belt taking its revenge and knocking Fort Benton out of the state tournament.

Despite the disappointment at state, the Longhorns put forth a great season and will be remembered as a team that thrived off of thrillers, which often resulted in a Fort Benton victory. Now, the club awaits the 2020 season and another crack at the Class C state title.

Havre def. Butte Central, LO

25-11, 25-17, 25-21

BTC – Kills 27 (Cassidy Strizic 09), Assists 25 (Maci Reopelle 13), Aces 02 (Cassidy Strizic 02), Digs 41 (Maci Reopelle 15), Blocks 04 (Avery Kelly 2.5).

HAV – Kills 25 (Sam Oliver 08, Jessa Chvilicek 08), Assists 15 (Peyton Brown 11), Aces 03 (Kinsey Adkins 03), Digs 34 (Sam Oliver 10), Blocks 08 (Talia Ralph 04).

Havre def. Columbia Falls, LO

25-17, 21-25, 20-25, 25-20, 15-13

CBF – Kills 50 (Kiera Brown 15), Assists 43 (Maddie Stutsman 35), Aces 10 (Angellica Street 04), Digs 86 (Angellica Street 39), Blocks 04 (Kiera Brown 04).

HAV – Kills 40 (Jessa Chvilicek 12), Assists 34 (Peyton Brown 24), Aces 02 (Jessa Chvilicek 02), Digs 106 (Sam Oliver 32), Blocks 06 (Jessa Chvilicek 2.5, Quinn McDonald 2.5).

Glendive def. Havre, 4th Place

25-22, 25-9, 25-21

GLN – no stats were reported.

HAV – no stats were reported.

Bridger def. Fort Benton, QF

25-17, 28-26, 25-20

BGR – Kills 34 (Emily Adkins 14), Assists 30 (Sami Fusco 18), Aces 09 (Emily Adkins 03, Kallevig 03, Buessing 03), Digs 66 (Kyra Kroll 25), Blocks 02 (Jenna Kallevig 01, Hope Buessing 01).

FTB: Kills 29 (McKenzie Clark 07), Assists 23 (McKenna Hanford 11), Aces 05 (Maci Molinario 03), Digs 41 (McKenzie Clark 09), Blocks 04 (Abby Clark 02).

Belt def. Fort Benton, LO

16-25, 25-15, 21-25, 25-21, 16-14

BLT: Kills 46 (Kyelie Marquis 19), Assists 44 (Kolby Pimperton 41), Aces 06 (Kyelie Marquis 02), Digs 119 (Adelle Meissner 33), Blocks 09 (Lindsey Paulson 03).

FTB: Kills 50 (McKenzie Clark 15), Assists 43 (McKenna Hanford 22), Aces 12 (Nicole Axtman 04), Digs 67 (Cassie Nack 18), Blocks 02 (McKenzie Clark 01).