Blue Ponies defeat Laurel, Miles City on weekend road trip

Over the weekend, the Havre High volleyball team had another road trip with games against Laurel and Miles City. While they were far away from home, the Blue Ponies took care of business with a 3-1 win (25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19) over Laurel and a 3-0 win (25-9, 25-16, 25-16) against Miles City.

The Ponies started the weekend with a match Friday night against Laurel at the Alterowitz Gymnasium in Billings. The Ponies started the match strong to win the first set, 25-19, to take a 1-0 lead in the match. But the Locomotives came right back to win the second set, 25-16, to tie the match.

The Ponies rebounded in the third set to win, 25-22, to take a 2-1 lead in the match. They then kept up their strong play in the fourth set as they won, 25-19, to secure a 3-1 victory in the match. The Locomotives were a tough opponent, so HHS head coach Stephanie Huse liked how her team played.

“Laurel was a tough team. They battled with us in every set,” Huse said. “There was a lot of good volleyball happening and I thought the girls did a good job of making sure that they finished each set and just worked really hard to win that match.”

Avery Carlson and Kyanna Jarvis each posted 10 kills in the match to lead Havre. Carlson also recorded 13 digs and two blocks in the contest. As a team, the Ponies recorded 10 service aces with Jarvis and Yelena Miller each recording four in the match.

On Saturday night, the Ponies continued to play well in their win at Miles City. In the first set, the Ponies came out strong to take a 9-0 lead. After the Cowgirls scored their first point of the set, the Ponies held onto momentum as they pulled away for a 19-5 lead. The Ponies then ended the set on a 6-4 run to win, 25-9, to take a 1-0 lead in the match.

The Ponies started the second set with four straight points to take the lead. But the Cowgirls did not let it get away from them as they came back to tie the set 8-8. The Ponies then showed they were the better team with a 12-2 run to build a 20-10 lead. The Cowgirls could not take momentum as the Ponies went on to win, 25-16, to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

To start the third set, the Ponies and the Cowgirls exchanged points until it was a 5-5 tie. But the Ponies took control and never looked back.

After building their lead to 17-7, the Ponies cruised to a 25-16 win to end the match. The Cowgirls are an athletic and young team, but Huse believes the Ponies executed better throughout the match.

“I just think we were a lot more consistent,” Huse said. “Our serving really took them out of their ability to run their offense so I think those were the factors in the match.”

Carlson led the Ponies with eight kills in the match while Molly Huse recorded a team-high three service aces and 20 assists in the contest. Miller led the team with a pair of blocks while also recording a service ace against the Cowgirls.

The strong weekend improved the Ponies’ record to 3-0 on the season and 2-0 in the Northeast A. The Ponies won all three matches in a hostile environment on the road, so these wins are helping them become the squad they want to be down the road.

“It was just really good to get really challenged and to see how the girls responded to pressure,” Stephanie Huse said. “It just cements that we have to just continue to get consistent with all of our fundamentals and make sure we’re really clean on both our offensive and defensive ends and in everything we do.”

The HHS volleyball team will next play in its home opener against Glendive at Havre High Gymnasium on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Havre def. Laurel

25-19, 16-25, 25-22, 25-19

HAV - Aces 10 (Kyanna Jarvis 4, Yelena Miller 4); Kills 31 (Avery Carlson 10, Jarvis 10, Emilee Chambliss 5); Assists 29 (Molly Huse 27); Blocks 9 (Miller 5, Carlson 2); Digs 70 (Lizzi Haney 22, Huse 13, Carlson 13).

Havre def. Miles City

25-9, 25-16, 25-16

HAV - Aces 5 (Molly Huse 3, Yelena Miller 1); Kills 27 (Avery Carlson 8, Kyanna Jarvis 6, Miller 5); Assists 22 (Huse 20); Blocks 4 (Miller 2, Huse 1); Digs 40 (Lizzi Haney 11, Jarvis 8, Huse 7).