BUTTE, Mont. — The Havre Lady Ponies turned in a strong performance at the Butte Blocktoberfest last weekend, opening the tournament with a perfect 8-0 record on the first day of competition.
Havre carried that momentum into the second day, picking up right where they left off with a straight-set victory over Hamilton, winning 25-22 and 25-17. However, the Lady Ponies saw their winning streak come to an end in their next two matches, falling to Columbia Falls and Billings Central to finish in a tie for fifth place in the tournament.
Following the tournament, Lady Ponies head coach Cassie Kruger spoke with NMB Sports about what stood out to her while watching her team compete in Butte.
“There’s a lot of tenacity. When I told them that they needed to change, they did it immediately, and so the discipline was there. It was a great weekend to show us what the postseason is going to look like, the competitive teams we’re going to see, and what we need to do in order to be the best that we can be.”
Kruger also discussed what her team can take away from competing in multiple matches over a short period of time, along with the areas of focus heading into a week with fewer matches and more time for practice.
“We are locking in our defense as far as digging, blocking, and how my defensive back row players are getting around our front row block. And then just being efficient in our offense, making sure we’re executing and not letting teams go on one, two, three, four, or five point runs.”
The Lady Ponies will return home this week for a pair of matchups. Havre will host Glendive on Friday at 7 p.m. as part of its Senior Night celebration before welcoming Billings Central on Saturday for a 5 p.m. matchup.
