Havre volleyball ready for a busy weekend on the court

The Havre High volleyball team has been rolling through the competition to start the season, but this weekend will provide a unique challenge for the Blue Ponies. Over the next three days, the Ponies will compete in three matches.

The Ponies will start the weekend tonight with a match at home at Havre High Gymnasium against Lewistown. The Ponies will then head on the road to face Glendive Friday night. Havre will then return home to face Ronan Saturday afternoon to wrap up the weekend. While this slate can be daunting, HHS head coach Stephanie Huse looks forward to the opportunity to improve.

"It's going to be a new challenge for our girls going three matches in a row. You usually don't see that," Huse said. "It'll be a good challenge to see how we do physically, mentally and emotionally after playing three matches."

The Ponies will face Lewistown tonight at home in a rematch of a contest that just took place this past Saturday. In Lewistown, the Ponies defeated the Golden Eagles in four sets. While the Eagles started strong to win the first set, the Ponies rebounded to handily win the last three sets to win the match. After their recent meeting, Huse expects the Eagles to play better.

"I expect them to respond to what we showed them when we played them and they're going to be able to make those adjustments and challenge us a little bit more," Huse said. "It's always a good rivalry so the energy will be high and it'll be fun to be able to play at home against them."

The Ponies will have a quick turnaround as they will head on the road to play Glendive Friday night. This will be another rematch as Havre defeated Glendive in four sets at home a couple weeks ago. With the match on the road, Huse expects a tough environment as well as an improved Glendive squad.

"They're going to make adjustments and they're going to bring a lot of new things at us as they adjust," Huse said. "We'll both hopefully be playing at our best and we'll see what happens."

The weekend will end with Havre facing Ronan at home on Saturday. Unlike the first two matches this week, this will not be a rematch as the Ponies and Chiefs have not played yet this year. This will also be a non-conference match for the Ponies, so Huse looks forward to seeing something new this season.

"We like new challenges and new teams," Huse said. "Playing somebody unfamiliar and really just focusing on what we can control in that match. Doing the things that we do well and then making the adjustments that are necessary."

This tough slate will challenge the Ponies' undefeated record as they are 6-0 on the season with a 4-0 record in the Northeast A. If the Ponies want to remain perfect on the season, their best players will need to continue playing well.

Kyanna Jarvis is off to a strong start to the year for the Ponies. Last weekend against Lewistown, she led the team with 17 kills and four service aces. Against Glendive earlier this year, she posted eight kills and a service ace. Avery Carlson is another key player for the Havre offense. Against Glendive and Lewistown this season, she has a combined 24 kills and five service aces across those two matches.

With three matches in only three days, it can definitely be overwhelming for the players. But Huse believes that if they can compartmentalize the task ahead, it will be easier to handle.

"Just anytime it gets to be a lot on our plate, we try to just break it down into smaller pieces. You can handle things in smaller pieces than you can if you try to take it all on in one time," Huse said. "Just staying in the present moment and dealing with what's right in front of us."

The HHS volleyball team will tip off tonight at 7 p.m. against Lewistown at HHS Gymnasium. The Ponies will then play Glendive on the road Friday at 7 p.m. The Ponies will then return to HHS Gymnasium to face Ronan Saturday at 4 p.m.